The Detroit Lions open their 2026 season on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, and with the full offseason in the rearview mirror, it’s time for one final game-by-game prediction. Detroit enters the year with one of the easiest schedules in the NFL, and the path to an NFC North championship looks clear. Here’s how every week shakes out for the Lions, from Week 1 against New Orleans all the way through a Week 18 finale in Green Bay.

Week 1 vs. Saints: Win (1-0)

Look, this Saints team is going to be tougher than a lot of Lions fans think. Once New Orleans got Tyler Shough in there last year and started figuring things out, they were much better down the stretch. Brandon Staley has a good defense, and Kellen Moore is an offensive guru. I still have the Lions winning this game. At home, I trust the Lions offense a lot more. The Saints won’t have their big rookie Jordyn Tyson, and I’m not 100% sure Alvin Kamara is playing. Last I knew, Kamara was injured. The Lions can win this one and start 1-0.

Week 2 at Buffalo: Loss (1-1)

This one’s tough. You start thinking about teams the Lions would want revenge over, and the Bills are right there. Detroit has played Buffalo twice in the Dan Campbell era, in 2022 and 2024. Both games were wildly entertaining, high-scoring shootouts, and the Lions lost both. The Bills’ home opener in their brand new stadium is going to be electric. Those fans are going to make that game hard on Detroit. Buffalo is a good football team with a great quarterback, a solid offense, and a really good running back in James Cook. This is the Lions’ biggest early test defensively. I have to go with the Bills here. So much is working against the Lions in this one.

Week 3 vs. Jets: Win (2-1)

Aaron Glenn comes to town to face his former team. I don’t think the Jets are there yet. I’m going to say something that’s going to put me under fire: I think Aaron Glenn is a better coach than Ben Johnson. You cannot base everything off of year one. Dan Campbell won three games in 2021. Are we making the ruling on him based on that? I think the Jets are going to have a very similar trajectory to what the Lions did. I think 2026 is going to be like the Lions’ 2022 for New York. They’ll show some things, and everybody will be saying “watch out for the Jets” by year’s end. But right now, they’re still figuring it out. Lions win at home.

Week 4 at Carolina: Win (3-1)

Carolina made the playoffs last year in a weak NFC South, and they’re an up-and-coming team. I just trust the Lions more, especially this early in the season. Detroit is better offensively and defensively. The Panthers are a threat to win that division, but the Lions take this one.

Week 5 at Arizona: Win (4-1)

I’m going to shoot you completely straight here. The Cardinals are the worst team in the NFL. They’re going to have the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft. They feel like a team that’s purposely tanking for what is expected to be the deepest quarterback draft we’ve seen in a very long time. I can’t even blame Arizona for it. Lions win and head into the bye week at 4-1. If Detroit can get to 4-1 before the bye, that’s huge for the second half of the season.

Week 7 vs. Packers: Win (5-1)

The Lions are back at Ford Field after being away for a stretch. I have the Lions winning this first matchup against Green Bay. The Packers probably won’t have Micah Parsons back yet, and Josh Jacobs is on the commissioner’s exempt list. I don’t know how long that’ll last, but it potentially lasts all year. Those advantages put the Lions over the top here.

Week 8 vs. Vikings: Win (6-1)

Detroit has some business to take care of after getting embarrassed twice by Minnesota last year. Brian Flores is probably the best defensive coordinator in the NFL, and it’s surprising he’s still not a head coach. I think Kyler Murray will be good for the Vikings, and they still have Justin Jefferson. But they also lost Jonathan Greenard, and while they added Kyle Van Noy and Harrison Smith, I don’t think that makes up for Greenard’s departure. Lions at home, Lions win.

Week 9 at Miami: Win (7-1)

I don’t see Miami beating Detroit. I think Malik Willis is fine, but I don’t understand why an entire franchise is putting all their hopes on a guy who has started about three games in his career. This feels like Matt Flynn all over again. The Lions did this once with Scott Mitchell. Sometimes it works, but most times it doesn’t. Lions win.

Week 10 vs. Patriots (Germany): Win (8-1)

This is a home game for the Lions. Not at Ford Field, but Ford Field Germany, basically. Amon-Ra St. Brown gets to play in front of his people, his family, his friends. There is no way that dude doesn’t go off. I’m putting it on the table: 150 yards, 2 touchdowns. It’s a big game for him, and the Lions take down the AFC champion Patriots in Germany.

Week 11 vs. Buccaneers (Thanksgiving week): Loss (8-2)

This is where a lot of Lions fans have been waiting for me to hand Detroit another loss. Tampa Bay comes into Detroit and takes advantage of a jet-lagged team coming back from Germany on a short week. This is a get-right game in a sense. The Lions are running too hot, getting a little too confident. The Buccaneers come in and punch them in the mouth. Detroit usually benefits from that kind of wake-up call.

Thanksgiving vs. Bears: Win (9-2)

The Lions lost on Thanksgiving last year, and they’d like to fix that. I just don’t think Chicago is going to be as good as they were last year. They won over half their games by seven points or less. They had one of the worst defenses in the league, and it got worse this summer. Their biggest signing, Coby Bryant, is hurt. I don’t know if he’s going to play in this game. I think the Bears miss the playoffs this year. Lions win on Turkey Day. Side note: Eminem is running the halftime show, and I’m putting in my formal request for Jack Black and Tenacious D on the Thanksgiving stage. Play the tribute. Play the kielbasa one. Let’s make it happen.

Week 13 at Atlanta: Win (10-2)

Lions pull into Hotlanta, hit up Magic City for the wings (just the wings), and then go get a win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Is Tua Tagovailoa going to be their quarterback at that point? Is Michael Penix healthy right now? I don’t think he is. I don’t trust this Atlanta team. But Bijan Robinson versus Jahmyr Gibbs, the two highest-paid running backs in the league, could make this an old-school ground game. That’s going to be fun.

Week 14 vs. Titans: Win (11-2)

Tennessee is improving, but they’re not a playoff team this year. I’d tell the Titans to stick with their coaching staff and let Cam Ward develop. Don’t be the next team that keeps cycling through quarterbacks, head coaches, and GMs every year. Lions win at home.

Week 15 at Vikings: Loss (11-3)

I don’t have the Lions sweeping Minnesota this year. Something about that home crowd, when they start doing the Skol chant, it is a sight to be seen live. By this point, the Vikings are fighting for a wild-card spot, maybe that 6th or 7th seed. It’s a must-win situation for Minnesota, and they fight, and they win.

Week 16 vs. Giants (Monday night): Win (12-3)

I’m not super impressed by Jackson Dart, Cam Skattebo, or really anything the Giants have going on offensively outside of Malik Nabers. New York’s defensive line could be a tough out, and this might turn into an aerial game for the Lions if the Giants shut down Jahmyr Gibbs on the ground. Detroit still wins and clinches the NFC North with their 12th victory.

Week 17 at Chicago: Loss (12-4)

I know I said a bunch of stuff about the Bears, but playing in Chicago in January is hard. It’s going to be blustery. Ben Johnson gets his first win over Dan Campbell because, you know, he wants it.

Week 18 vs. Packers: Loss (12-5)

By now, the Lions have this thing sewed up. They’re NFC North champions. Maybe they rest some starters in a blustery game. There’s no point in risking anything. The Packers win, but it doesn’t matter. The best way this season could unfold is going into Lambeau in Week 18 when it’s already meaningless and playing your backups to keep your starters safe.

The final verdict: 12-5, NFC North champions

The Lions finish 12-5 and head to the playoffs as NFC North champions. Not the 1 seed, but a very good football team that could potentially win the Super Bowl this year. I really like this schedule for Detroit. You get two effective byes with the early bye week and about 12 days off after Thanksgiving. The path is there. Week 1 starts on Sunday.

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