The Detroit Lions finally got themselves some Bye Week luck with the 2025 NFL schedule.
The Detroit Lions managed to avoid the bye week blues.
With the official release of the 2025 NFL schedule, we now have a clear picture of which teams Detroit will face and when. Equally important, however, is the bye week. This week off can provide much needed recovery for a weary and injured team.
The 2024 Lions were not fortunate in this regard. Their bye week came at the earliest possible time, Week 5. Though the Lions thrashed the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 after their bye, the bye itself was not much of a useful reprieve for them. So early in the season, the wear and tear that comes with a 17-game season had not yet emerged in full force. From Week 6 onward, the Lions would lose Aidan Hutchinson, Kyle Peko, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Alex Anzalone, Ifeatu Melifonwu, and Kalif Raymond, among others. An injury like Hutchinson’s would not have recovered with a bye week, but there are many players that could have used the week off to recuperate. Instead, Detroit had to play non-stop football from Week 6 onward, and by the time the playoffs rolled around, it was clear that the wounds had accumulated.
Not only do the 2025 Lions have a more favorable bye week, the schedule-makers dealt them a good hand from a bye week perspective. The Lions have a Week 8 bye week, roughly middle of the pack. This is, by itself, a positive, but the positives do not end there: Detroit does not face a single team coming off their bye week.
Having a bye week before a game gives that team ample opportunity to prepare. Not only are they well rested, but the coaches have an extra week to study film (if they so choose). That will not be an issue for the Lions in 2025. Out of all of their upcoming opponents, the Philadelphia Eagles have the shortest span between their bye (Week 9) and their tilt with the Lions (Week 11). Every other team will either be played before their bye (such as the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 with a Week 7 bye) or significantly after their bye (such as the Green Bay Packers in Week 13 with a Week 5 bye).
In fact, the final stretch of games will see the Lions face some run-down foes. Their Week 16 opponents, the Pittsburgh Steelers, have a bye week all the way back in Week 5. The Minnesota Vikings, the Week 17 Christmas Day opponent, have a Week 6 bye. Finally, to cap off the season, the Lions will face the Chicago Bears, a team with a Week 5 bye—a sizeable stretch of football. These final three games will feature teams that have not had rest since very early in the season.
And in case you didn’t notice, the Lions have the latest bye week of all the NFC North teams (Bears and Packers; Week 5; Vikings: Week 6).
The Lions have a tough schedule ahead of them, but there is some solace in the fact that the bye week is more friend than foe in 2025.
