Five Things That Make Me Want to Throw My Remote at Ford Field
The schedule dropped Thursday and holy hell, did the NFL schedule makers wake up and choose violence against Detroit. Again. Despite finishing fourth in the NFC North, somehow we got labeled as having an “easy” schedule. Then they promptly made sure it would be anything but easy.
Because this is Detroit, and we can’t have nice things.
Here are five things about this schedule that make me question whether Roger Goodell has a dartboard with the Lions logo on it hanging in his office.
Three Divisional Road Games to End the Season
Let’s start with the absolute gut punch finish they handed us. Three of the final four games are on the road. Three divisional road games in four weeks.
Who did we piss off? What kind of sadistic schedule maker looks at that and thinks, “Yeah, this seems fair.” Two divisional road games in a month is rough but manageable. Three is just cruel.
And of course it’s Chicago and Green Bay in late December and early January. You know, when those stadiums are at their absolute frozen worst. Because why would Detroit catch a break when it comes to weather and travel? The football gods looked down at Allen Park and said, “Let’s see how tough these guys really are.”
The Week 6 Bye That Helps Nobody
A Week 6 bye is essentially useless. It’s the second-earliest bye week in the entire league, which means we’ll be limping through December and January without any real rest when we actually need it.
They had Week 8 sitting right there. Perfect timing before the Germany trip, gives the team a chance to get healthy for the stretch run. But no, let’s give Detroit the bye when half the roster is still fresh and save the brutal slog for when everyone’s running on fumes.
I get not wanting to give us an advantage before Thanksgiving, but this feels like they went out of their way to make it harder.
The International Travel Nightmare
Somebody explain the logic here. We play Miami on the road in Week 8, get maybe two days at home, then fly to Germany. Come back, play Tampa Bay at Ford Field, then turn around and host Thanksgiving.
Three games in twelve days. One of them international with all the jet lag and travel chaos that comes with it. Then straight into the Thanksgiving tradition.
This isn’t just poor planning, it’s actively working against player health and safety. But hey, at least the TV ratings will be good, right?
One Home Primetime Game All Season
Despite growing popularity and a fanbase that travels better than most, we get exactly one primetime home game. Week 16 against the Giants on Monday Night Football.
The other three primetime games? All on the road. Thursday night at Buffalo in Week 2, Sunday night at Carolina in Week 4, Sunday night at Minnesota in Week 15. Meanwhile, we couldn’t get the Packers or Bears in primetime at Ford Field? Those games practically schedule themselves.
I appreciate the home finale being in primetime, but this feels like the NFL still doesn’t quite know what to do with Detroit’s resurgence under Dan Campbell.
Thanksgiving Groundhog Day
Remember when Thanksgiving games were actually interesting? When we’d get fun matchups against teams we don’t see twice a year anyway?
Since 2007, we’ve hosted an NFC North opponent thirteen times on Thanksgiving. Thirteen. Out of twenty games, that’s 65 percent divisional matchups. And get this: eleven of those have been against either Chicago or Green Bay.
Fifty-five percent of our Thanksgiving games over two decades have been the same two teams. The Vikings have only showed up twice in that span, which honestly feels generous.
I get that Bears-Lions and Packers-Lions have history, but how about some variety? How about a Thanksgiving game that doesn’t feel like we’re stuck in some sort of scheduling time loop?
This schedule feels designed to test every ounce of resilience Dan Campbell has built into this team. And knowing this group, they’ll probably thrive on it anyway. But damn, would it kill the league office to throw Detroit a bone once in a while?
Think this schedule sets us up for success or is it just the same old Lions luck? Let me know in the comments below.
