Pride of Detroit
Taking a deep look at how the Detroit Lions faired with the release of their 2025 schedule.
We’ve known the opponents for months, and now we've got the rest of the details. The when and in what order were figured out on Wednesday night as the Detroit Lions learned what their 2025 schedule looks like. Before we knew the order of the games, the Lions' schedule appeared daunting at first glance. Based on last season’s opponents’ winning percentage, they are tied for the second-toughest schedule, tied with the Chicago Bears and behind the New York Giants.
It’s not just the opponents that were tough before we knew the schedule; it was the fact that the Lions' toughest games are on the road. They take on the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and their Super Bowl opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs. That isn’t just it; they have to try and get their revenge against the Washington Commanders for the early exit from the 2024 playoffs on the road, and they have to take on the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson in his stadium.
Before the schedule was released, there were many things to look at, like how multiple networks wanted to get the Lions on their channels. Now that we have it in front of us, we can start to connect the pieces. Let me give you my five takeaways from the 2025 Detroit Lions schedule.
We have to start with one of the biggest gripes for years for Detroit. The early bye weeks have haunted the Lions the past few years, and they haven’t had a bye week past Week 10 since 2016. This year, the bye week isn’t as early as last season (Week 5). It’s Week 8 this time. While that is an improvement and close to the middle of the season, it could still be better. In that seven-game span, the Lions will have three primetime games, two of them back-to-back before the bye week.
It would have been well deserved if the team got an extra week or two before the bye week. The Lions' early bye week certainly impacted the injuries they suffered last season, and while where it is this year is an improvement, a later-season break is better than one earlier.
Last season, the Lions hit the cap on the amount of primetime games (six), and the only reason they hit the sixth one was because of the stakes Week 18 had against the Minnesota Vikings. This year, they are at five, and it seems like the Lions playing under the lights frequently is something Lions fans must get used to. For years, the Lions would get zero primetime games, and if they ever got one, it was a big event, no matter if it was home or away.
Fans have yearned for the media to take the Lions seriously. Constantly feeling overlooked, pushed aside,...
