The 2019 NFL schedule is live! SideLion Report examines the upcoming season’s slate for each of the Detroit Lions’ NFC North opponents, including key match-ups and outlooks.
It’s no secret at this point that the Detroit Lions have a daunting first month of the 2019 NFL season. With games against the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles before September is through, we’ll have a pretty good idea about who the Lions really are when they arrive at their bye in Week 5.
As per the NFL’s schedule rotation, along with the Lions the rest of the NFC North will play against the NFC East and the AFC West in 2019. That’s a difficult lineup including match ups against two of the best teams in the AFC from last season, and two NFC playoff squads from 2018 as well.
Compounding their difficult transition into the first year under new head coach Matt Patricia, the Lions simply did not perform well enough within the division last season. They went 2-4 against their divisional rivals, losing all four games to the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. Those tilts weren’t particularly close either. They’ll have to fare better there next season, as well as hanging tough against the other challenging teams on their itinerary.
The Lions though, are not the only NFC North team with a difficult docket in 2019. Here, we’ll sift briefly through each of the Lions’ divisional opponents’ 2019 schedule including key dates and possible repercussions for Detroit, starting with the Green Bay Packers.