Looking at the Detroit Lions 2023 regular season schedule, these half-dozen games can be comfortably marked as wins.
The NFL makes a television show out of its schedule release, in an effort to rule every month on the calendar and keep itself in the conversation 365 days of the year. For some it’s “just tell me when it’s out” regarding the schedule, after all the leaks (approved and official from the league of not).
Thursday night, the entire 2023 regular season schedule came out, and the record predictions have naturally followed.
Here’s a look at the Detroit Lions 2023 schedule.
Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs (Thursday Night Football)
Week 2: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Week 3: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 4: at Green Bay Packers (Thursday Night Football)
Week 5: vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 6: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 7: at Batimore Ravens
Week 8: vs. Las Vegas Raiders (Monday Night Football)
Week 9: Bye
Week 10: at Los Angeles Chargers
Week 11: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 12: vs. Green Bay Packers (Thanksgiving)
Week 13: at New Orleans Saints
Week 14: at Chicago Bears
Week 15: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 16: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 17: at Dallas Cowboys (Saturday night)
Week 18: vs. Minnesota Vikings
The Lions will have five nationally televised games this season, including two Thursday nights in the first month and the Week 17 Saturday night against the Cowboys. The league clearly expects the Lions to be good.
If the Lions are going to meet those expectations they will have to win the games they’re “supposed to”, and there are some of those on the slate. Here are six that can comfortably be marked as wins….on the way to a division title?
6 games to comfortably mark as wins on the Detroit Lions 2023 schedule
6. Week 13 at New Orleans Saints
Some see this game as a potential loss for the Lions, late in the season in a tough road environment against a team that should be competitive.
But on the field the Saints just aren’t that intimidating, even with running back Alvin Kamara surely done with a possible suspension well before Week 13. Derek Carr is a theoretical upgrade under center, but he’s a middle of the pack quarterback destined to lead a team to somewhere around a .500 record.
I could see this game being a grind for the Lions for a little while, before they assert themselves as the better team and ultimately win comfortably.
5. Week 6 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With Tom Brady gone, the Buccaneers are heading into a reset with Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask set to compete for the starting job under center. But they also seem like they want to compete still, with an eye on winning the bad NFC South as still constructed around the question mark at quarterback.
These Lions learned the danger of not coming with your ‘A’ game on the road late last season against Carolina, a loss that ultimately cost them the playoffs after things played out.
Florida in the fall can be challenging for road teams coming in. But the Lions should (and arguably have to, with what comes in two of their following three games) win this game if they are going to do what’s expected of them this season.
4. Week 11: vs. Chicago Bears
3. Week 14: at Chicago Bears
Doubling up on the Bears, as the Lions play five of their six division games from Week 11 on and the face them twice in a four week-span.
The Bears should be a better team this year, not that it’ll take much after earning the No. 1 overall pick last year (before trading it). How much that translates to wins is a question, and they won’t be favored to win many games.
Being home against the Bears before the short Thanksgiving week is an advantage for the Lions off the top in the first matchup. Coming off a tough stretch of the schedule (at the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7, and at the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10), they get a soft landing in Week 11.
Week 14 at Chicago two weeks before Christmas invites the prospect, actually strong likelihood, of rough weather to play in for the Lions. But how much the Bears will be playing for as the season’s final month starts, beyond pride to avoid a season-sweep by the Lions, is an automatic question.
It’s a drum that has and will be beaten here a lot regarding this year’s schedule. But if the Lions are going to meet expectations, a season-sweep of the inferior Bears is a practical prerequisite.
2. Week 8: vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Before their Week 9 bye, the Lions get the Monday night stage on the night before Halloween against the Raiders. They finally moved on from Carr this offseason, swapping in Jimmy Garoppolo to reunite with Josh McDaniels.
Las Vegas has some good individual talent (Davante Adams, Maxx Crosby), but 1-53 on the roster they just don’t seem likely to do much this season. At home, in prime time, going into the bye and between two of the toughest games on their schedule, this is one the Lions need to and should get pretty comfortably.
1. Week 3: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Going three out of four for the Lions to easily beat NFC South teams this season, and the fourth (Carolina Panthers) almost made this list too.
The Falcons have extra buzz after drafting Bijan Robinson. Witth an intriguing set of young offensive weapons, they also made an effort to beef up their defense this offseason.
But Desmond Ridder is still Atlanta’s quarterback, and an improved Lions’ defense gets an early season shot at him before he may be able to show his full potential in a full season as the starter. Arthur Smith also gives off in over his head vibes from the head coaching spot for the Falcons, which makes his team vulnerable.
Early odds have the game against the Falcons as a game the Lions are favored to win by the most on their schedule (-5 on DraftKings Sportsbook, tied with Week 5 against the Panthers). So with that, home against Atlanta early in the season gets further fortified for the top spot among the games to comfortably mark as a win.