The Detroit Lions have plenty of buzz around them, and Sunday Night Football play-by-play man Mike Tirico expects to see them this season.
The Detroit Lions notably had no primetime games on their original 2022 schedule. In Week 18, with the potential of a playoff “win and in” game against the Green Bay Packers, the Lions were flexed in Sunday Night Football to finish the season.
It was also the Lions first Sunday night game appearance since 2018.
Off the buzz of their strong finish to last season, the Lions are lined up to play some primetime games during the coming season. How that looks in terms of Monday night, Sunday night and Thursday night is to be determined, and it will be officially unveiled when the 2023 schedule comes out in May.
That Lions-Packers game, which looks likely to go down as Aaron Rodgers’ final game as a Packer, was the second-most watched Sunday night game last season and the most-watched Sunday night finale in six years. The story the Lions were authoring, with a chance until late that Sunday afternoon to make the playoffs themselves with a win, accounted for a fair chunk of that viewership pie.
Mike Tirico expects to see the Detroit Lions on a Sunday night
Mike Tirico is, of course, NBC’s play-by-play man for Sunday Night Football. Appearing on 97.1 Ticket Wednesday, he said expects to see his home state team (he lives in Ann Arbor) in that primetime spotlight.
"I think it’s a good shot,” “If we go by last year, the schedule is about a month away from coming out, and I would hope that we see a Lions game there, for a variety of reasons.I’m glad that game ended up on TV because even though the Lions didn’t get a chance to make the playoffs and control their destiny, they showed everybody they’re a fun team and on-the-rise team. “I’m not counting on a home game (for the Lions this season), but if we get one, that would be one of the fun weekends of my year."
Home or road, it would not be surprising if Tirico winds up calling a couple Lions’ Sunday night games this season.