Detroit Pistons crowd gives Lions coach Dan Campbell standing ovation
The crowd at Little Caesars Arena went nuts seeing Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell on the jumbotron on Sunday, April 27, 2025 at Game 4 of the Detroit Pistons vs. New York Knicks game.
The Detroit Lions don’t have their full regular-season schedule yet, but we already know a few things about what the team will be facing heading into the 2025 season.
The Lions finished with a franchise-record 15 regular-season wins in 2024, but fell in the divisional round of the playoffs 45-31 to the Washington Commanders to end their Super Bowl hopes.
But those hopes will be revived this season with a still-talented team and a challenging schedule ahead.
Buy Lions tickets on StubHub
The NFL will reveal its full schedule for all 32 teams in a prime-time show on Wednesday, May 14. The show will be broadcast on NFL Network and across the NFL’s digital platform at 8 p.m. ET.
Here are five things to know about the Lions’ 2025 schedule before the reveal:
No. 1: The Detroit Lions have a tough schedule
Though we don’t know the Lions’ full schedule yet, we do know who they will play in the upcoming season.
Outside of playing in arguably the toughest division in the NFL, the Lions will also play against many division-winning teams from the 2024 season, including the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles and AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs.
That gives the Lions the third-toughest projected schedule in the NFL for the upcoming season, according to betting expert Warren Sharp.
Based on win totals, the Lions ended up with the seventh-toughest schedule in 2024 and still finished with the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
No. 2: Detroit Lions have more road games scheduled than home games
Since NFL teams began playing a 17-game regular season in 2021, NFL teams have had an unequal number of home and road games in their regular season. And since the Lions played more home games than road games in the 2024 regular season, that setup will flip in 2025.
The Lions will play eight games at home and nine games on the road in the regular season in 2025. And many of their road games could be brutal, with visits to Philadelphia, Kansas City, Los Angeles and Baltimore, along with their annual visits to Minnesota, Green Bay and Chicago on the schedule.
No. 3: Detroit Lions’ Thanksgiving game will have a different start time
The Lions’ traditional 12:30 p.m. kickoff time for their annual Thanksgiving game will be changed for the 2025 edition.
But it’s not a big change, since the time is moving 30 minutes later to 1 p.m. ET.
According to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, the change will reflect the league’s typical Sunday schedule, with the first game kicking off at 1 p.m. ET and the second game (hosted by the Dallas Cowboys) kicking off at 4:25 p.m. ET.
No. 4: Detroit Lions will play in the annual preseason Hall of Fame game
While we don’t know the Lions’ full schedule, we do know when we will see the Lions first take the field.
The Lions will play against the Los Angeles Chargers in the annual Hall of Fame game on Thursday, July 31 in Canton, Ohio. It will mark the team’s first preseason game of 2025.
Detroit native and Chargers legend Antonio Gates will headline the 2025 Hall of Fame class, which also includes cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen and wide receiver Sterling Sharpe.
No. 5: Detroit Lions will likely play a lot of prime-time games
The Lions played in five prime-time games in 2023 and another six in 2024, which bucked the trend of the Lions almost never being on prime-time television the previous decade.
And the NFL’s broadcasters will have plenty of prime time-ready matchups to choose from, whether it’s a rematch against the Matthew Stafford-led Los Angeles Rams, a playoff rematch against the Commanders or big-time matchups against the Eagles and the Chiefs.
Nothing is official, but you can count on the Lions being a big-time draw.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.