The Detroit Lions are staring at a schedule that could turn last year’s Christmas misery into a useful edge in the NFC North.
A year ago, Detroit’s 23-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day shut the door on the Lions’ playoff hopes and sent them into the offseason with plenty of unanswered questions. This time around, the same matchup may end up helping them chase Minnesota down after the bye.
Tankathon currently has the Vikings with the toughest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL, with a winning percentage of .568 entering Sunday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. Detroit’s schedule is hardly soft, but it ranks ninth in the league at .530. That gap matters, especially with several favorable spots still on the board for the Lions.
Detroit has a home game coming up against the 1-5 Tennessee Titans, a road trip to face the 0-5 Miami Dolphins and two NFC South matchups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons. The Lions also still have all six division games left, including a home date with the Vikings on Nov. 1 and a trip to Minneapolis on Dec. 20.
That Christmas loss in Minneapolis was ugly in every way that mattered. The Lions went into U.S.
Bank Stadium with a battered roster, managed only 231 yards and coughed up four fumbles against Brian Flores’s defense. Minnesota was down to undrafted free agent Max Brosmer at quarterback, yet Detroit still got buried.
Brosmer was sacked seven times and finished with 51 passing yards. Even Lainey Wilson singing “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” at halftime did nothing to soften the afternoon for Lions fans.
The result had a strange upside, though: it set Detroit up with a last-place schedule.
That idea was pushed hard in the offseason, too, when analyst Warren Sharp called the Lions’ schedule the easiest in the NFL entering the year. Results around the league have changed that picture, but the Lions still have paths to stack wins while Minnesota gets a rougher slate. The Vikings are also scheduled to face the NFC South, with home games against the Falcons and Carolina Panthers in December, but they also still have the Buffalo Bills coming to town, a road trip to the New England Patriots and a meeting with the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City.
Detroit enters the stretch two games behind the Vikings in the division, but it also has a game in hand on both the Packers and the Chicago Bears, who finished Sunday tied for second at 4-2. The post-bye opener against Green Bay looms large, and the following week’s home game against Minnesota could swing the division picture quickly. Add in the trip to Miami, and the Lions have a real chance to make up ground over the second half.
It won’t erase the sting of Christmas Day. But if Detroit takes care of business, that loss could end up looking a lot less painful when the NFC North race is sorted out.
In Other News...
Lions May Have A Cheap Secondary Fix They Didn't Expect
Alontae Taylors situation in Tennessee is suddenly worth watching, and not just because the Titans have already started to shuffle pieces around in their secondary. The cornerback, who had built a reputation for stronger play with the Saints, has seen that stock dip since arriving in Tennessee, and now Detroit is being mentioned as a possible landing spot if the Lions decide they want another inexpensive way to bolster their back end.
For a Detroit defense that has been searching for answers in the secondary, Taylor is the kind of name that can make sense on paper: young enough to matter, experienced enough to help, and potentially available if Tennessees view of his fit keeps going south. Nothing has been finalized, but the possibility alone is enough to keep an eye on, especially if the Lions are looking for a move that could change their defensive depth without costing them much. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Defensive Blame Is Starting To Shift In A Telling Way
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Detroit did show something to build on in Week 5, when the defense turned in a much stronger outing and gave Dan Campbell reason to sound more encouraged. Campbell praised Sheppard and the group for the progress, but he also made clear the standard has not changed, and the Lions still need more consistent play before anyone can call the defense fixed. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Face A Tough Week 7 Test If One Defensive Issue Lingers
The Lions are headed into a Week 7 home meeting with the Packers in a spot that should draw plenty of attention, especially with Green Bay bringing a very different look than the version Detroit saw in past seasons. The Packers have made major changes in both the coaching staff and the roster, including the arrival of Jonathan Gannon as head coach along with a number of personnel moves on both sides of the ball, and that kind of turnover can make an opponent harder to project from one week to the next.
For Detroit, the bigger concern is whether a lingering defensive issue shows up again at the wrong time. The Lions can get by when their defense is organized and on schedule, but this matchup has the feel of one where any uncertainty could matter, particularly against a Packers team still sorting out its identity. If the same problem hangs around into Sunday, it could turn a straightforward divisional test into a much trickier afternoon than the Lions want. [Read more 🡒]