The Schedule Gods Finally Remembered Detroit Exists
The 2025 season was brutal to watch. Not because the Lions faced some murderer’s row of elite teams, but because everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Injuries piled up like snow in January, and everything around them just went wrong.
But here’s something that might actually make you smile for once: the NFL schedule makers just handed Detroit what might be the easiest slate in the entire league for 2026.
Lions Projected to Have NFL’s Easiest Schedule
According to Warren Sharp’s strength of schedule analysis, the Lions are sitting pretty at the top of the “easy schedule” list for 2026. Saints, Bengals, Browns, and Jets round out the top five. Meanwhile, teams like the Cardinals and Dolphins are staring down the barrel of the hardest schedules in football.
Look, I normally don’t put much stock in these preseason strength of schedule rankings. They’re based on what teams did the previous year, and they never account for how much those supposedly bad opponents might have improved. But this year feels different because honestly, how much better could most of these teams have gotten?
Breaking Down the Home Slate
Let’s walk through who’s coming to Ford Field. The Packers? What exactly did Green Bay do this offseason that made anyone say “wow”? They very likely won’t have Micah Parsons back for a while too. The Bears wanted Maxx Crosby, Trey Hendrickson, Tyler Linderbaum, or literally anyone of note. Instead they got Devin Bush. That’s not exactly a massive upgrade for one of the worst defenses in the NFL that just lost pretty much all its starters in the secondary.
The Vikings brought in Kyler Murray after he essentially got kicked out of Arizona. I’m not convinced he’s much of an upgrade over J.J. McCarthy, and their draft looks more built for 2027 than 2026.
The Saints definitely got better on defense, sure, but their offense still has more question marks than a pop quiz. Tampa Bay should be a lot better in 2026 with a stronger defense and a healthy offense, and the Patriots are coming off making it to the Super Bowl, so they should be good again.
The Jets might actually be a better team in 2026. They might even be a Wildcard team. Their draft was thoroughly impressive. The Titans still have a long way to go, and the Giants’ defensive line is scary, but every other part of their team is still uncertain.
Road Trips Could Be Manageable
Outside the NFC North road games, Detroit’s travel schedule doesn’t look like a gauntlet either. The Falcons with Tua Tagovailoa could be intriguing, and they were on the cusp of being good. The Bills are just always going to be good because that’s what Buffalo does.
But then you’ve got the Panthers, who are on their way up and should be in the playoff mix again, and the Dolphins and Cardinals, who are both going through total rebuilds. Miami might regret that Malik Willis signing, and Arizona looks like they’re likely tanking in preparation for one of the biggest quarterback drafts in years in 2027.
Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell have built something special in Allen Park, and now they’re getting a schedule that actually gives them room to operate. After years of this franchise finding new ways to make things harder on itself, maybe, just maybe, the football gods decided Detroit has suffered enough.
Think this easy schedule is actually a trap, or is it finally time for the Lions to take care of business? Let me know if you’re buying into the hype or preparing for disappointment below.
