We've known the 2026 Detroit Lions' opponents since the end of the 2025 season, but tonight, we'll finally know when each game will be played.
The NFL is releasing the full 2026 schedule Thursday night (8 p.m. ET), and several games have already been revealed, including three Lions games — Week 2 at the Buffalo Bills, Week 10 in Germany against the New England Patriots, and Thanksgiving Day versus the Chicago Bears.
Before Detroit's entire 17-game schedule is shared, here are five things we're most interested in learning.
1. Bye week
With the NFL revealing that the Lions will play the defending AFC champions in Munich in Week 10, the first thing we're looking for in the completed slate is where the team's bye lands. While teams generally have an open date the week following an overseas trip, that isn't always the case.
The past two seasons, for example, the New York Jets have directly followed London trips with games stateside. The strategy hasn't worked, however, with New York going 0-2 in their return from across the pond.
A late bye could be beneficial for Detroit, keeping it fresh during the final stretch of the regular season. The Lions have had swarms of injuries in recent seasons, and being off Week 11 would help players recover, particularly after what's expected to be a hard-fought game against the Patriots.
2. When are divisional games?
The Lions will welcome former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and the Bears for the annual Thanksgiving Day game, and we're also interested to see where the remainder of the NFC North games are scheduled.
Detroit opened last season with two consecutive divisional contests and ended the year with back-to-back road trips to the Vikings and Bears. It may benefit the Lions for those games to be more spread out. And while Detroit was swept by Minnesota a season ago, the Vikings project to be the worst team in the division in 2026, making them a preferable choice for Week 18 instead of a potential playoff preview versus the Bears or Packers.
3. Opener
The Buffalo Bills will celebrate the grand opening of their new stadium by welcoming Detroit in Week 2 for "Thursday Night Football," which will undoubtedly be a raucous environment. It's a daunting task for the Lions, who could use a less challenging Week 1 opponent to ease into the season.
Detroit hasn't begun a season 0-2 since 2021, Dan Campbell's first season, when the team finished 3-13-1. A winless start through two games this year doesn't mean the Lions will have nearly as disastrous a season, but it would force them to dig out of an early hole and potentially play catch-up in the competitive NFC North.
4. Favorable Lions stretch
As disappointing as 2025 was for the Lions, some good came out of the 9-8 season. By finishing last in the division, Detroit benefits from a fourth-place schedule, pitting it against cellar-dwellers from the AFC South (Tennessee Titans), NFC East (New York Giants), and NFC West (Arizona Cardinals). The Lions -along with the rest of the NFC North-Â also play the entire NFC South, which didn't have a team above .500 a season ago.
Games against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, who combined to go 10-24 in 2025, are also extremely winnable.
If Detroit gets a string of those projected easier games in a row, it will be worth monitoring when during the season the sequence occurs. An earlier slate would allow the Lions to build confidence and momentum after last year's disappointment, while one later in the season would mean they'd have no reason to panic with a slow start.
5. Cold weather games
The one benefit to getting the Bills in their stadium opener is that it means the Lions will avoid traveling to Buffalo in frigid temperatures later in the season. In fact, that only leaves three potential cold-weather games for Detroit, which is 3-2 in its last five outdoor games where the kickoff temperature was 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, per Stathead research, including a 2022 Christmas Eve loss to the Carolina Panthers, who they play on the road again this year.
Late-season Packers and Bears road games would also be brutal from a weather standpoint, making the earlier the better in all three instances. The Lions play in five open-air stadiums altogether, with the other being in South Beach against the Miami Dolphins, making cold weather a non-factor. (And if it is, something has gone horribly wrong.)
Detroit's equipment team will know tonight whether it's going to need heaters later this year. If the scheduling gods smile in the Lions' favor, they may be able to afford packing light the entire season.
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