5 most winnable games on the Detroit Lions' 2024 schedule

The NFL schedule makers broadly did the Detroit Lions a favor, for the second straight year. This year, they will play 13 of their first 14 games indoors, and that one outdoor game (Week 9 at Green Bay) is a coin-flip in terms of being a cold weather game. Jared Goff's track record indoors compared to outdoors makes playing so many games indoors especially favorable.

But there is a bit of flipside. Coming out of an earlier than ideal bye week (Week 5), the Lions will play four of their following five games on the road, with trips to Dallas, Green Bay and Houston. That's the trade-off for having three of their first four games at home.

As the Lions look to set themselves up for a deep playoff run again this season, and take the next step to the Super Bowl, they'll have to as the cliche' goes, "win the ones they're supposed to." That means beating the teams who are not as good as they are, and putting those easier games in the win column without drama. To sum it up, no falling prey to "trap games" based on looking ahead, a short week to come, etc.

Here are the five most winnable games on the Lions' 2024 schedule.

5 most winnable games on Detroit Lions' 2024 schedule

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 2

Yes, Tampa Bay was a playoff team and a division champion last year. And the Buccaneers are returning mostly the same team this year, most notably trading cornerback Carlton Davis to the Lions this offseason in terms of key losses.

But the Lions also beat the Buccaneers twice last season, in the regular season on the road and the playoff game at Ford Field. The Lions look better than they did last year in some key areas too, while Tampa Bay ran it back with the same core.

Plainly and simply, the Lions should take care of business rather easily in the rematch this year. It may not be totally reflected in the final score, but the stats will show how much better the Lions are than the Buccaneers.