Schedule Leak: Detroit Lions Play Bitter Division Rival on Thanksgiving

The Detroit Lions will again play a division rival on Thanksgiving.

According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Lions are set to host the Chicago Bears for the annual Thanksgiving Day Classic at Ford Field.

This year, the game will take place on Thursday November 26, 2026.

Since former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson departed to become the head coach of the Bears, the rivalry has intensified significantly.

Last season, Detroit was able to defeat the Bears twice, including in the season finale on the road.

Despite the perceived ill will, Lions head coach Dan Campbell is still close to Johnson and former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

“Yeah, it’s a good relationship. We talked yesterday. Look, man, our families are still around each other. His kids, his wife, him. When you’re with somebody as long as I was with Ben, you’re going to have a relationship," Campbell told reporters at the annual owners meeting. "Now, when we play each other, we want to beat the crap out of each other. That’s the nature of the business.

"But that doesn’t mean he’s not a friend, man, that I don’t care for him and don't want to help him, as long as it doesn’t hurt us. I’m sure he’d tell you the same thing. I’ve got a lot of respect for Ben, man.”

The former NFL tight end also had an opportunity to check in with Glenn out in Arizona.

“AG and I were talking again yesterday, and it was funny because we were kind of talking about the season a little bit, and now here you are going into Year 2," said Campbell. "They’ve got a lot of (draft) capital, a lot of value ready to go. Made some moves in free agency to fit what AG’s about and I’m like, ‘Well, this is nothing new for you.' He lived it with us. Damn near the same thing. We went through this a little bit.

"What you learn is, man, stay true to what you believe in. Don’t start going the other way or doing something you don’t believe in," Campbell explained further. "That’s where you get in trouble. You believed in it when you took that job, when you told that owner what you wanted to do. You told the fans, you told these players. Keep going. Push right through it man. You push through that wall. It took us whatever that was, seven games, before we got through it in Year 2, but we got through it.”

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