Lions Ability For Sustained Success May Hit Roadblock Soon

The Detroit Lions have what many consider to be a favorable schedule.

Their schedule for the upcoming campaign, which dropped last week, is the easiest in the league based on projected opposing win totals. As a result, pundits and fans are expecting a return to form from an organization that finished in last-place in the NFC North a season ago.

However, with the opponents for the 2027 season surfacing Tuesday, it's clear that the Lions must take advantage of the opportunity they have with this schedule.

The slate of opponents for next season isn't complete, as their final three opponents will be crossover games against teams that finish in the same spot in their respective divisions as the Lions do in the North. However, 14 of their 17 games can be inferred, and the slate is shaping up to be tough.

In addition to the six games they play annually against their division, the Lions have crossover games against each of the teams in both the NFC and AFC West divisions. This will create plenty of challenges for the team as they strive for sustained success.

Rounding out their opponents for next season will be the teams that finish in the same place as the Lions do in the NFC East, NFC South and AFC North.

The 2027-28 Opponents pic.twitter.com/eziLcK12Ew
— NFL Nerd (@NerdingonNFL) May 19, 2026

While their home slate is a bit underwhelming in terms of opposing star power for the 2026 season, there will be a big uptick in 2027. Patrick Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl champion, and the Kansas City Chiefs are slated to visit Detroit, as are the San Francisco 49ers who infamously defeated the Lions in their trip to the NFC Championship during the 2023 season.

Additionally, it will be a grueling road slate with trips to Seattle, Los Angeles to play the Rams and Denver all among the docket along with their divisional trips.

If the Lions reach their goals and are able to win the NFC North for the third time in four years, they will also add home games against the NFC East and NFC South champions, and a road game against the AFC North champions.

Detroit will play eight home games and nine road games next season as part of a rotation between AFC and NFC teams getting an extra home game when the NFL expanded the schedule to 17 games in 2021. This year, the Lions are using one of their home games to host the New England Patriots in Germany.

The NFL also voted to expand their international slate of games to 10 starting in 2027, not including the Jaguars playing in London, and teams will be unable to protect home games from going overseas.

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