We will know the full Detroit Lions schedule for the 2025 regular season the night of May 14.
Though there haven't been many early leaks or official statements about the Lions schedule, we do know their season opener; it'll be at Green Bay against the NFC North rival Packers. The full mystery will reveal itself at 8 p.m., when the NFL broadcasts its 2025 schedule release.
The broadcast is scheduled for tonight at 8 p.m. ET and will air on NFL Network. Additionally, the show will be streamed on the NFL's digital platform, including NFL.com and the NFL+ app.
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According to betting expert Warren Sharp, the Lions will have the third-toughest schedule of any NFL team in 2025, with matchups against the defending conference champions in the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
We'll have all the rumors, updates and highlights for the Lions schedule release right here.
According to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, the Lions will host the Chicago Bears in their home opener on Sunday, Sept. 14 in a Week 2 matchup. It will be Detroit's first matchup against former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who is now the Bears coach.
The Lions will also finish their regular season against the Bears in a Week 18 matchup on either Jan. 3 or 4, with a date and time still to be determined.
Detroit won both its matchups against Chicago in 2024, with a 23-20 home win on Nov. 28 and a 34-17 win at Soldier Field on Dec. 22.
Per Andrew Fillipponi of Pittsburgh's 93.7 The Fan, the Steelers will visit the Lions in a Week 16 matchup.
The Lions haven't played the Steelers since Nov. 14, 2021, with the two teams finishing with a rare tie as the game finished 16-16 after the overtime period in Pittsburgh.
It's the last Lions game that has finished in a tie and just the second Lions tie since 1984.
Per Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Lions will be visiting the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Nov. 16 in a primetime matchup.
This could end up one of the most anticipated games on the NFL's regular-season schedule, with the defending champs matched up against the conference's defending No. 1 overall seed.
The Detroit Lions' road showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs will take place on Sunday Night Football in Week 6 (Oct. 12), according to a report from NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
This would be the Lions' first trip to Kansas City since they beat the Chiefs 21-20 to open the NFL season in 2023.
That means the Lions will play on both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.
The NFC North rivalry game will be a 4:25 p.m. start on Fox, according a report by Fox Sports. Per the Free Press' David Birkett, the leak lines up with other announced Week 1 games, which have been mainly division-rival matchups.
The rest of the Lions' schedule likely will not be announced until the 8 p.m. May 14.
-- Bill Bradley
Even though the Lions are scheduled to play more away games (nine) than home games (eight) in 2025, Detroit will have the fourth-shortest travel schedule among all NFL teams in the upcoming regular season.
The Lions will travel an estimated 11,411 miles in the 2025 regular season according to Bill Speros, ahead of only the Cincinnati Bengals (8,753 miles), Buffalo Bills (10,546) and the Baltimore Ravens (10,647).
By comparison, the Los Angeles Chargers are estimated to set the record this year in miles travelled with 37,086, thanks to a slate of east coast games and a Week 1 game in Brazil.
Part of the Lions' shorter travel schedule is due to the team's proximity to its NFC North rivals. Both the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears land in the bottom-third of NFL teams with fewer than 13,000 estimated miles of upcoming travel, while the Minnesota Vikings get close to 20,000 only because of back-to-back international games in Dublin and London in Weeks 4 and 5.
-- Christian Romo
The Lions aren't scheduled for an overseas regular-season game in 2025, but the Minnesota Vikings will play in two-straight international affairs.
The first will come on Sept. 28 in a matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. The second comes a week later on Oct. 5 against the Cleveland Browns at Tottenham Hostpur Stadium in London. The Vikings are designated as the road team for both games.
-- Christian Romo
Despite rumors that they could be considered, the Lions will not play in the league-opening Thursday Night Football game vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.
Instead, it'll be the other America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys, taking on the defending Super Bowl champions in the annual game.
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You can reach Christian at [email protected].