The bye week is over and the Detroit Lions know exactly what stands between them and the playoffs: 12 games, six of them inside the NFC North, a trip to Munich, and a December that ends with back to back road games in the division.
Detroit comes out of the bye at 3-2, chasing the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings, with the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears both at 4-2. The full season slate is in our Detroit Lions schedule 2026 guide; here we break down only what is left, week by week, from the softest landing spots to the games that will decide the division.
Lions Remaining Schedule 2026
| Week | Date | Opponent | Time (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Sun, Oct 25 | vs Green Bay Packers | 4:25 PM | FOX |
| 8 | Sun, Nov 1 | vs Minnesota Vikings | 1:00 PM | FOX |
| 9 | Sun, Nov 8 | at Miami Dolphins | 1:00 PM | FOX |
| 10 | Sun, Nov 15 | vs New England Patriots (Munich) | 9:30 AM | FOX |
| 11 | Sun, Nov 22 | vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1:00 PM | CBS |
| 12 | Thu, Nov 26 | vs Chicago Bears (Thanksgiving) | 1:00 PM | CBS |
| 13 | Sun, Dec 6 | at Atlanta Falcons | 1:00 PM | CBS |
| 14 | Sun, Dec 13 | vs Tennessee Titans | 1:00 PM | FOX |
| 15 | Sun, Dec 20 | at Minnesota Vikings | 8:20 PM | NBC |
| 16 | Mon, Dec 28 | vs New York Giants | 8:15 PM | ESPN |
| 17 | Sun, Jan 3 | at Chicago Bears | 4:25 PM | FOX |
| 18 | TBD | at Green Bay Packers | TBD | TBD |
The Run Starts With Two Division Home Games
There is no easing back in. Green Bay visits Ford Field in Week 7 and Minnesota follows in Week 8, which means the Lions can either seize control of the NFC North by mid November or spend the rest of the year chasing it. Splitting these two is the minimum; sweeping them changes the entire shape of the season, because Detroit does not see Minnesota again until the Sunday night trip in Week 15.
The good news is both games are at home, where the Lions have built one of the loudest advantages in football. The roster they bring into this stretch is young and mostly healthy on offense, as our Lions roster breakdown shows, though the secondary remains the worry.
The Weird Middle: Miami, Munich and Tampa Bay
Weeks 9 to 11 are the strangest run on the schedule. Detroit flies to Miami, then gives up a home game to play New England in Munich at 9:30 in the morning Eastern, then comes home to face Tampa Bay. The travel is brutal, but the opponents are beatable, and this is the stretch where a contender banks wins before December.
The Munich game also lands right before Thanksgiving week, so the Lions play three games in 18 days across two continents. Depth, especially on the defensive line and in the secondary, matters more in this window than at any other point in the season.
Thanksgiving and the December Gauntlet
Chicago at home on Thanksgiving opens the final act. After a trip to Atlanta and a home game against Tennessee, the last three weeks are as hard as it gets: Sunday night at Minnesota, Monday night at home against the Giants, then at Chicago and at Green Bay to finish.
Four of the final six games are division games, and the last two are on the road against the Bears and Packers. If the division is still open in Week 18, the Lions will have to win it at Lambeau Field, which is exactly the kind of ending this rivalry keeps producing. Our Lions 2026 season preview flagged this closing stretch as the season’s defining test back in September, and nothing since has changed that view.
Toughest Games Left, Ranked
- Week 15 at Minnesota (Sunday night): the division could be settled under the lights in Minneapolis.
- Week 18 at Green Bay: a potential winner takes the North finale at Lambeau.
- Week 8 vs Minnesota: the first-place Vikings at Ford Field, Detroit’s best chance to close the gap early.
- Week 7 vs Green Bay: Jordan Love and a 4-2 Packers team, straight out of the bye.
- Week 10 vs New England (Munich): the travel and the early kickoff make this trickier than it looks on paper.
For week to week updates as dates and networks are confirmed, the Detroit Free Press schedule coverage is a solid companion, and our own pages track every score live on game day.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many games do the Lions have left in 2026? Twelve: six at Ford Field, one in Munich as the designated home team, and five on the road.
What is the Lions’ hardest remaining game? On paper, the Week 15 Sunday night trip to Minnesota, with the Week 18 finale at Green Bay close behind.
When do the Lions play the Packers again? Twice: at Ford Field on October 25 in Week 7, and at Lambeau Field in Week 18, with the date and time still to be confirmed by the league.
Do the Lions play on Thanksgiving in 2026? Yes. Detroit hosts the Chicago Bears on Thursday, November 26 at 1:00 PM Eastern on CBS.