There's a lot of hand-wringing as of late regarding the Detroit Lions' 2026 schedule. And, it's a little confusing, to be honest.
The Lions didn't have a bad roster last season - rather, they had terrible injury luck and some very fresh faces in their trenches that didn't immediately gel with longer-standing members of their offensive, and defensive, lines. Both of their safeties were unhealthy, and so was their potential CB1.
That, in addition to their inability to establish a consistent offense behind such a shaky O-line, might've made them look a little more mortal than they actually are. They only averaged 120.1 rushing yards per game with a backfield of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, while allowing opponents to average 114.5. It just wasn't a recipe for success.
That could explain why NFL.com's Ali Bhanpuri thinks Detroit is going to miss out on the postseason altogether, and Tom Blair sees the Lions barely scraping into a Wild Card spot. Blair wrote about his specific prediction (an 11-6 record):
"Beating the teams they should defeat is key to the Lions' success -- which does, I must admit, make me a little nervous, given how little that word means in the NFL, especially before Memorial Day."
Lions aren't viewed as major contenders in latest schedule takes
While both Bhanpuri and Blair are clearly quite low on the Lions' chances at re-taking the NFC North, they both have the Chicago Bears winning the division despite having one of the most difficult schedules in the NFL.
More interestingly, both writers project identical records for the Bears and Lions, but Bhanpuri has Detroit out of the playoffs with a 10-7 record and Chicago winning the title with a 10-7 record. That's because Bhanpuri projects the Bears to dominate their NFC North matches down the stretch, while he has the Lions floundering in their daunting stretch to end the year.
READ MORE: Lions best-kept secret is finally ready to take over in 2026
Detroit improved around the margins this offseason - they have a new center in the building, and they've added some decent depth to their edge rusher room by way of rookie Derrick Moore and veteran D.J. Wonnum. They're leaning on the faith that Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph will, eventually, be at full strength when it matters. And, they've still got one of the most potent assemblies of offensive weapons in the NFL.
They're not a tough sell. And yet, these record predictions keep assuming that the Lions' 2025 woes will have a hangover affect for 2026. It's obviously impossible to guess just how right, or wrong, these predictions will be until we see the final product hit the field. But, it feels comfortable to say that Detroit is Chicago's strongest competitor for the divisional title, with a much-easier path to that spot.
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