Pride of Detroit
Breaking down the Detroit Lions’ 2025 schedule and ranking each game from 17 to 1 based on entertainment potential.
It’s already been well established that the Detroit Lions’ 2025 schedule is one of the most difficult slate of games in the league. But that also means it may be one of the most entertaining. With premier matchups against both NFC and AFC contenders, there will rarely be a dull moment throughout Detroit’s 17-game campaign.
So I went and ranked the Lions’ schedule from worst to best. In general, this is a ranking of what I expect to be the least and most entertaining games of the season, although “best” and “worst” are obviously very subjective.
Not only are the Giants one of the worst teams on the Lions’ schedule, but there is also no intriguing storylines here. Maybe you could squeeze out a Kayvon Thibodeaux vs. Aidan Hutchinson narrative here, but, mostly, this is a bore.
I thought about placing this higher because it’ll have that “can’t look away car crash” type of feel to it. But in reality, this is going to be one of those 35-14 type of games that get the single-highlight treatment on SportsCenter the next day.
The Steelers will somehow be around .500 at this point in the year because they always are, but they’re still a bad team. Pittsburgh travels well, so the energy in Ford Field could be elevated for this one—and there’s a serious chance Aaron Rodgers plays in this game. But, otherwise, this could be a forgettable game.
I’m certain people will take offense to this game being too low on the list, but quite frankly, I’m over the Cowboys “rivalry.” They’re below the Lions at this point, and we don’t have to pretend that beating them is some sort of huge accomplishment. Also, these teams have played against other in each of the past three seasons. I’m bored of it.
I am definitely not bored of driving Vikings fans crazy. They have a serious complex about the Lions right now, and I’m here for it. It’s a shame this is a 1 p.m. ET game because I’d love the national audience to witness this game. But with the Lions coming off a bye prior to this game, I think it should be a solid divisional game from Detroit.
The Lions have Bengals have only played 13 times in history, and it’s been four years since their last matchup. Detroit has lost seven in a row against Cincinnati, dating all the way back to 1992, so this is an opportunity to knock down another embarrassing, long-standing drought. The fact that this game is so far down the list tells you just how entertaining this schedule is.
Yes, I’m...
