The Schedule Release is Coming and We Know What the NFL Wants
Thursday night the league drops our 2025 schedule and we all pretend to be surprised by the primetime picks. But let’s be honest here — after watching this franchise claw its way back to relevance under Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes, we can see the obvious matchups coming from a mile away. The NFL loves storylines almost as much as they love money, and the Lions have both now.
Will we get fewer primetime games than we did coming off those back-to-back playoff runs? Probably. But the ones we do get should be worth watching.
Bills: The Trilogy Nobody Asked For But Everyone Wants
This writes itself. Two shootouts in the Campbell era, both instant classics, both the kind of games that make you remember why you love this sport even when it breaks your heart. The NFL sees dollar signs when they think about Lions-Bills part three.
Monday Night Football feels right for this one. Probably early in the season when both teams are still healthy and the weather hasn’t turned Ford Field into a wind tunnel. Josh Allen versus Jared Goff in primetime again? Yeah, they’re doing it.
Bears: The Campbell-Johnson Revenge Game
Dan Campbell versus Ben Johnson. Round three. The NFL marketing department probably has the promos already cut.
As long as both coaches are running their respective franchises, this matchup will get the primetime treatment. It’s personal, it’s divisional, and it gives the networks a chance to tell the story about the coordinator who left to become a head coach. They’ll probably save it for Week 3 or so, let the storylines marinate a bit.
Panthers: Thursday Night Football Special
Carolina made the playoffs and should be the favorites in the NFC South heading into the season. They’re fun, they’re young, and they fit perfectly into the Thursday Night Football formula of “up-and-coming team meets established contender.”
It’s the kind of matchup that looks good on paper and could either be a blowout or a barn burner. No middle ground with Thursday night games.
Buccaneers: America’s Game of the Week
If the Lions start the season against Tampa Bay — and that feels like the right kind of opener — it’s getting the 4:25 national TV treatment. Not primetime exactly, but close enough.
America’s Game of the Week in that late Sunday afternoon slot. Get it over with early, hope it’s the only one, and move on to the real primetime slots where this team belongs.
Think we’re right about these primetime picks or are we setting ourselves up for disappointment again? Drop your predictions below.
Bills trilogy is a no brainer. Those games have been absolute bangers and the league knows we’ll tune in every single time. Campbell and Goff have earned the right to be in primetime and honestly it feels good to say that about our Lions team for once.
I want to believe this but primetime games don’t mean much if we can’t actually finish games when it counts. Holmes and Campbell have done real work here but let’s see if they deliver when the lights are brightest before we start celebrating the schedule.
Man, the difference between now and the dark years is night and day. Back then we were lucky to get any national coverage, now we’re actually talking about which primetime slots we deserve. This front office gets it in a way we haven’t seen in forever.