ALLEN PARK -- Kerby Joseph’s injured knee isn’t healing as fast as the Detroit Lions hoped it would.

Let’s pop the hood and do a midseason diagnostic check on the key topics that surrounded this team entering Week 1.

The bye week was a much-needed break for the Detroit Lions players and coaches. The welcome respite from seven weeks of high-intensity matchups and brutal physical combat on the gridiron came at a great time for the 5-2 Lions.

Detroit will resume its quest for its first Super Bowl appearance after the bye. The Lions will play Minnesota at Ford Field and will also host the New York Giants, Green Bay, Dallas and Pittsburgh with road games remaining against Washington, Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Rams, the Vikings and Chicago.

The Detroit Lions on Tuesday became the fourth and final team in the NFC North to enter its bye week, getting some time off later in the calendar than the Green Bay Packers (Week 5), Chicago Bears (Week 5) and Minnesota Vikings (Week 6).

In what sounds like the worst uniform matchup in recent memory, Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) will host the Green Bay Packers (4-1-1) on Sunday Night Football in Week 8. This will mark the first time Rodgers faces his former team for whom he played for 18 seasons.

Detroit’s five-game winning streak against the Vikings was snapped in the process. The Lions entered as heavy favorites, but a sleepy, sloppy showing doomed them for most of the day.