The Lions Chose Germany Over a Bye Week — And That’s Very Honolulu Blue
The Detroit Lions had a choice to make in 2026. Take the easy path with a different international game and get a proper bye week afterward, or push hard for Munich knowing it would create scheduling hell. Guess which one they picked.
Rod Wood and the Lions front office made it clear they wanted Germany. They already had international marketing rights there. Amon-Ra St. Brown is basically a hometown hero given his German roots. And hell, this franchise was overdue for an international trip considering their last overseas game was back in 2015.
The NFL obliged, but it came with a price that only the Lions would willingly pay. The Germany game falls just two weeks before Thanksgiving, which means no bye week afterward. Instead, Detroit gets a brutal 12-day stretch with three games and an intercontinental flight thrown in for good measure.
Wood Made the Best Deal He Could
Here’s the thing about Rod Wood — he’s not stupid. He knew exactly what he was asking for and what it would cost. When the league agreed to the Germany game, Wood had one request: no Thursday night game after Thanksgiving. At least give us a mini-bye to recover from this masochistic scheduling choice.
The league granted that request, which is something. But let’s be honest about what the Lions just signed up for. They’re going to play in Germany, fly back across the Atlantic, and then host Thanksgiving dinner for America three days later. It’s either going to be the most Lions thing ever or the most beautifully Lions thing ever. No in-between.
NFL vice president of broadcasting planning Mike North said it best during last Friday’s conference call: “It was important enough to Rod, to the organization, to our international folks, certainly to your wide receiver that it made a lot of sense for the Lions to play in that Germany game.”
Only Three Teams Get Proper Bye Weeks Anyway
Before we get too worked up about this scheduling nightmare, consider this: only three of the 16 teams playing international games this year will get a bye week immediately afterward. The NFL’s international scheduling is brutal for everyone, not just Detroit.
So maybe Wood didn’t have the perfect choice to begin with. Maybe it was always going to be a mess, and at least this way they get to showcase Amon-Ra in front of his people while building the Lions brand in a market they already own the rights to.
Or maybe this is just another example of the Lions making things harder on themselves because that’s what we do. We take the path that sounds romantic and challenging instead of the one that makes practical sense.
Is this smart international business or classic Lions self-sabotage? Tell me in the comments because I honestly can’t decide.
