Burning Question: Who Could Lions Play in Germany?

Exploring possible opponents for Lions in overseas game.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14). | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions will learn their opponent for their first international game in over a decade next week.

On Wednesday, the NFL will officially reveal its international slate of games for the 2026 season as part of the annual schedule release process. In addition, the full schedule of games will be revealed Thursday.

At that time, the Detroit Lions will learn who they will take on in their trip to Munich. It will be the first time the team plays internationally under head coach Dan Campbell. Detroit will play at FC Bayern Munich Stadium.

As part of the process, the Lions were allowed to protect two of their nine home games from being played in Germany. Team president Rod Wood told the Detroit Free Press that the Lions protected games against Minnesota and Green Bay, both of whom are divisional opponents.

Wood also noted in a pre-draft event at the Detroit Economic Club that there were teams that were "campaigning" to play the Lions in Germany. It should be noted that the NFL awarded marketing rights to teams in international countries, and four of their home opponents have those rights in Germany.

One of those teams is the Packers, but the Lions won't play them overseas after protecting that game. This means the Lions' three most likely opponents overseas include the New England Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants, as all three teams have marketing rights in the region.

It will be the first time the Lions have played in Germany, with their previous overseas games coming in London. They won in 2014 against the Atlanta Falcons on a last-second field goal by Matt Prater, then lost the following year to the Kansas City Chiefs.

All three of their projected opponents have played in Germany before. The Buccaneers won in 2021 over the Seattle Seahawks. The Patriots lost to the Colts in 2023, and the Giants lost to the Carolina Panthers in 2024.

Each of the three most likely opponents carry intrigue. The Patriots are coming off a loss in the Super Bowl to the Seattle Seahawks. Tampa Bay and the Lions have plenty of history, having played four times over the last three seasons, including once in the divisional round at Ford Field in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Lions and Giants played a thriller in November of 2025 at Ford Field, with the Lions rallying from a late deficit to force overtime. Jahmyr Gibbs scored a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime, and the defense forced a stop to seal the overtime win.

The Lions' game in Munich is one of nine on the NFL's international schedule this year. Along with their game, there will be showdowns in Australia, Brazil, Spain, France, Mexico and three in England.

Only one international game has officially been announced up to this point, that being the Los Angeles Rams' showdown with the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 in Melbourne, Australia.