Detroit Lions 2026 NFL Schedule Tracker, Rumors, News, Leaks

The Detroit Lions 2026 NFL schedule has the potential to significantly benefit Dan Campbell's squad.

Entering his sixth season as head man, the former NFL tight end is leading his team to play a fourth-place schedule this year.

As a result of finishing in last place in the NFC North last season, Detroit is facing the last place finishers in the AFC South, NFC West and NFC East.

The date of the game in Germany has now been officially released. This upcoming Wednesday morning, the team Detroit faces on Sunday November 15, 2026 will be announced.

It is not expected that Detroit would play against the Bears overseas, but there is a slight possibility.

"If you are chosen to play internationally, you used to be able to eliminate all your division opponents, so you wouldn’t have to play a division opponent in an international game," Rod Woos said, via the Detroit Free Press. "They changed that rule a couple years ago given how many international games we’re playing now. You start eliminating that many teams it makes it difficult to schedule, so we got to eliminate two teams."

Wood later added, "I know there’s a couple of teams that are campaigning to be our opponent there, who also has interest in marketing in Germany. So I would suspect it might be one of those two teams that I know are anxious to play us over there and would not be a division opponent, but it’s possible to be the Bears."

Follow along and bookmark the Lions On SI tracker to stay up to date regarding the team's 2026 schedule.

All rumors, news, schedule updates will be updates as soon as the information is released and/or reported.

5/14/2025

5:30 p.m. -- The entirety of the Lions' 2026 schedule has been leaked by @LionsRoyalty on X.

3:52 p.m. -- Detroit is rumored to be playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11, which comes in between their trip to Germany and their Thanksgiving game against the Bears. The team is also expected to play their regular season finale at Green Bay.

2:43 p.m. -- The latest Lions' schedule rumor indicates that they will host former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets in Week 3.

1:45 p.m. -- The Lions are rumored to be playing at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13.

12:26 p.m. -- The latest Lions rumor indicates that the team will play at the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15 on Sunday Night Football.

12:00 p.m. -- The Lions are rumored to be hosting the New York Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 16.

11:15 a.m. -- According to a report, the Lions will open the regular season on Sept. 13 against the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field.

10:50 a.m. -- The Lions are rumored to be taking on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday Night Football in Week 4.

8:55 a.m. -- It is being reported the Jets will face the Titans Week 1, so the Lions will not be facing Aaron Glenn to start the 2026 season.

7:00 a.m. -- It is being reported the Bears will close their season against the Vikings. This means the Lions will face the Packers in Week 18.

5/13/2026

11:40 p.m. -- Detroit Lions are rumored to play the Chicago Bears on the road in Week 17.

5 p.m. -- The Detroit Lions will play the Chicago Bears at Ford Field on Thanksgiving.

3:00 p.m. -- Green Bay Packers will not be the opponent for Detroit on Thanksgiving. It was announced Detroit's rival will play the Los Angeles Rams the day prior to Thanksgiving.

9:00 a.m. -- Detroit Lions officially are set to face the New England Patriots in Germany.

5/12/2026

9:36 p.m. -- The Lions are rumored to be facing the defending AFC champion New England Patriots in Munich, Germany for their international game on Nov. 15. Detroit's international game will officially be revealed at 9 a.m. on Wednesday during 'Good Morning America.

5/11/2026

7:15 p.m. -- The Lions are officially headed to Buffalo for Thursday Night Football in Week 2. It will be the first Thursday Night Football game on Prime of the season.

Lions vs. Bills in the FIRST-EVER game at the new Highmark Stadium.#TNFonPrime starts off with a banger on Sept 17 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/sVZpqMbnNR
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) May 11, 2026

5:31 p.m. -- The Lions are rumored to be playing against the Buffalo Bills in primetime on Thursday Night Football in Week 2. It would be the first home game for the Bills in their new stadium.

11:00 a.m. -- Date of Detroit Lions 2026 NFL International Game in Germany Revealed

Lions 2026 NFL schedule update

Week 1: vs. New Orleans Saints (Sunday, September 13)
Week 2: at Buffalo Bills (Thursday Night Football, September 17)
Week 3: vs. New York Jets (Sunday, September 27, rumor)
Week 4: at Carolina Panthers (Sunday Night Football, Sunday, October 4, rumor)
Week 5: at Arizona Cardinals (Sunday, October 11)
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: vs. Green Bay Packers (Sunday, October 25)
Week 8: vs. Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, November 1)
Week 9: at Miami Dolphins (Sunday, November 8)
Week 10: Detroit Lions International Series game against Patriots (Sunday, Nov. 15, 9:30 a.m ET)
Week 11: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday, Nov. 22, rumor)
Week 12: vs. Chicago Bears (Thanksgiving, Thursday November 26)
Week 13: at Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026)
Week 14: vs. Miami Dolphins (Sunday, Dec. 13)
Week 15: at Minnesota Vikings (Sunday Night Football, Sunday, December 20, rumor)
Week 16: vs. New York Giants (Monday Night Football, Monday, December 28, rumor)
Week 17: at Chicago Bears
Week 18: at Green Bay Packers

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