The Detroit Lions won nine games last season and finished bottom of their division. That is not a contradiction so much as a description of the NFC North in 2025, where a winning record was not enough to reach the playoffs or to finish above anybody.

The panels above are wired to the league data feed, so scores, standings, the roster and statistical leaders keep themselves current. Set out below is the part that holds for the year: what happened in 2025, the seventeen fixtures, and two home games that are nothing like the others.

Nine Wins and Fourth Place

Detroit went 9-8 and came fourth in the NFC North. Plenty of clubs have missed the playoffs at 9-8; very few have done it while finishing last, and it took an unusually strong division for that to happen.

The staff changed on one side. Dan Campbell stays for a sixth season, but the offense has a new voice: Drew Petzing arrives from Arizona in place of John Morton, who was dismissed in January. Kelvin Sheppard continues to run the defense.

Detroit has also been supplying head coaches to the rest of the league. The man who ran this offense before last season is now in charge in Chicago, and the schedule sends the Lions to face him twice. Jared Goff remains the quarterback, with Josh Dobbs behind him.

Detroit Lions 2026 Games and Kickoff Times

The full seventeen game list follows with Eastern kickoff times, which is also the clock at Ford Field. Select any opponent to open that game.

Want the printable version? The full Detroit Lions schedule 2026 has a free PDF, wall calendar and kickoff times in every time zone.

Only Week 18 is undated. The league confirms that once Week 17 is complete, and flexible scheduling can still shift a Sunday afternoon game into a night window beforehand.

Two Home Games That Look Nothing Alike

Week 10 is listed as a Detroit home fixture and kicks off at 9:30 in the morning Eastern time, because it is played in Munich against New England. The Lions are the designated hosts, which is why the club holds nine home fixtures but plays only eight of them in Detroit.

Eleven days later comes the opposite kind of home game. Thanksgiving at Ford Field is the oldest fixed appointment in the sport, and this year Chicago fills the other side of it at one in the afternoon.

Four games are in prime time, in Weeks 2, 4, 15 and 16, and only the Monday night meeting with the Giants after Christmas is at home. Live positions are tracked on the NFL standings page.

Ford Field and Six Games Inside the Division

Ford Field opened in 2002 and seats 65,000 under a fixed roof in downtown Detroit, which makes it one of the few places in the northern half of the league where December weather is somebody else’s problem.

The division work is spread across the whole year. Green Bay comes to Ford Field in Week 7 and Detroit closes the season in Green Bay in Week 18. Minnesota visits in Week 8 and hosts in Week 15. Chicago arrives on Thanksgiving and Detroit travels there in Week 17.

Given how the standings fell last season, that is where the year will be decided. The roster module higher up the page mirrors the active 53 exactly as the league lists it.

Detroit Lions FAQ

The Detroit Lions go again with the same head coach, a new play caller and a division that made nine wins worth nothing last year. Eight dates at Ford Field, a morning in Munich, and Thanksgiving where it always is.

Last updated: September 9, 2026. Checked against detroitlions.com and nfl.com.