Opponent Preview: Detroit Lions face San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, Tennessee Titans in Week 3
An easy start against the St. Louis Rams will give way to two tricky fixtures for the Detroit Lions in week 2 and 3 of the 2012 regular season.
Starting with an away trip to San Francisco 49ers in week 2, the Lions will then go to Tennessee to face off against the Titans in week 3.
These two weeks will be highly difficult for Detroit and it would take their best efforts to emerge victorious in both encounters.
Week 2: San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers last season were a brilliant collective as first-time head coach Jim Harbaugh brought a steely determination to San Francisco in 2011.
From a rag-tag collection of players, the 49ers were converted into a fierce unit that gave no quarter to their opponents.
Ending the 2011 regular season with a 13-3 record and going all the way to the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship round is a testament to the hard work Harbaugh has put in.
This year as well San Francisco will be challenging for the playoffs and the Lions face a tough test at Candlestick Park.
There is some bad blood between the two head coaches as well.
After last year’s game which the 49ers won, both Harbaugh and Lions head coach, Jim Schwartz got involved in a heated argument and that is likely to add more spice to a fixture already hyped to be an epic battle.
Head-to-Head
Both teams have faced each other 64 times. Lions have won just 27 games while 49ers have won 36. One game was ended as a tie between the two sides.
Both teams have also faced off against each other in the playoffs twice with one win and one loss each for the 49ers and Lions.
Recent years though have seen San Francisco win all of their last eight games against Detroit.
Week 3: Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans ended up with a 9-7 regular season record in 2011 and have tried to quietly build up their roster ahead of the new season.
The franchise pursued free agent quarterback, Peyton Manning with great determination but missed out on the four-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) when he chose to sign up with the Broncos.
Now the Titans will have an intense competition during training camp to fill the role of starting quarterback with Matt Hasslebeck and Jake Locker taking on each other.
The team has a nice spread of talent and will give a tough time to any opponent.
Head-to-Head
Both Lions and Titans have rarely faced each other with just 10 games played between the two sides from the days of the old Houston Oilers.
Since 2001 both teams have come face-to-face three times with Detroit ending up on the losing side each time.
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