The Detroit Lions’ 2025 season is nearly over, but even before Week 18 is concluded, we now know that the Lions will finish in fourth place in the NFC North and who they’ll face in the 2026 season. While the full schedule, including dates and times, won’t be released until May, we do know who Detroit’s home and away opponents will be.
Here’s how it works.
In addition to the home and away games with the Lions’ NFC North rivals, they’ll also face all four teams from two predetermined divisions—based on a league rotation—one from each conference. For 2026, the Lions and the rest of the NFC North will play teams from the NFC South and the AFC East.
In addition to those cross-divisional games, because the Lions finished in fourth place in the NFC North, they’ll also take on the teams that finished in fourth place in the NFC East, NFC West, and AFC South.
Finally, because of the NFL’s 17-game schedule, the NFC and AFC alternate which conference gets the extra home game for each season. For 2026, the NFC has the extra home game, so that means nine home games of the Lions. That being said, the Lions are expected to be assigned an international game, meaning only eight will be played in downtown Detroit.
Without further ado, here are the Lions’ home and away opponents for the 2025 season:
Home
- Chicago Bears
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- New England Patriots
- New Orleans Saints
- New York Giants
- New York Jets
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Tennessee Titans
Away
- Chicago Bears
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Arizona Cardinals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Buffalo Bills
- Carolina Panthers
- Miami Dolphins
See More:
