The Schedule Gods Finally Smiled on Detroit
The Lions schedule dropped and holy hell, there’s actually some good news in here. After years of getting bent over by the NFL schedule makers, this thing has storylines, prime time games, and somehow doesn’t completely screw us over. Let me walk you through this beautiful disaster.
Early Season Tests and Revenge Games
Week 1 brings Dan Campbell face to face with his former Saints squad while Kellen Moore gets his own reunion tour. For the first time since 2021, the Lions open against a team with a losing record. Is this what hope feels like?
Week 2 ships us to Buffalo on Thursday Night Football to help open the Bills‘ new stadium. Two high-powered offenses in primetime? Sign me up. These teams know how to light up a scoreboard.
Week 3 might be the most emotional game on the schedule. Dan Campbell vs Aaron Glenn. The former defensive coordinator returns to Ford Field wearing Jets green, and you know Glenn’s squad will be looking to prove something in his second season with the Jets.
Prime Time and International Spotlight
The Panthers get us on Sunday Night Football in Week 4. Both teams are young, explosive, and ready to put on a show. This should be appointment television.
Drew Petzing faces his old Cardinals team in Week 5. Arizona looks ready to tank for next year’s quarterback class, which means this should be a get-right game for the Lions offense.
Then comes the real treat. Week 10 takes the Lions to Germany for the first time in franchise history. Amon-Ra St. Brown gets his homecoming in Munich, and Dan Campbell squares off with Mike Vrabel. That crowd is going to lose their damn minds.
Division Battles and Thanksgiving Drama
The Packers visit Ford Field in Week 7, which means we get the comfort of our dome for one divisional matchup. Too bad we still have to make that winter trip to Lambeau later.
Thanksgiving brings Ben Johnson back to Detroit wearing Bears colors. The former Lions offensive coordinator is 0-2 against Campbell in his first season in Chicago and looking for revenge on the holiday stage. This is must-watch football.
Late Season Gauntlet
The schedule makers decided to torture us with late games down the stretch. Sunday Night Football in Minnesota. Monday Night Football against the Giants. Then a potential division-deciding trip to Chicago.
Week 18 ends with the Packers at Ford Field. These teams haven’t finished a season against each other since that big 2022 win for Detroit. If both teams are playing for something, this could get flexed to prime time.
The Bad News
That early bye week in Week 6 is brutal. No post-Germany rest week either, which means the Lions come home jet-lagged to face a playoff-caliber Buccaneers team. The NFL schedulers giveth and they taketh away.
But here’s the thing. This Lions team under Campbell and Holmes has earned these prime time spots. They’ve earned the respect of playing meaningful games in December. After decades of irrelevance, seeing Detroit get this kind of treatment feels surreal.
Is this the year the schedule finally breaks our way, or are we just setting ourselves up for another spectacular collapse? Drop your most pessimistic Lions fan takes below.
