2023 schedule leaks: 3 national games for Lions, including Week 1 tilt vs Chiefs.
The NFL will announce the 2023 schedule at 8 p.m. tonight. But this being the NFL and all, they’re going to drip us to death first. This post will update with all the Lions-related leaks.KNOWN SCHEDULE
Week 1: at Chiefs (Thursday) | 8:20 p.m. Sept. 7 | NBC
Week 4: at Packers (Thursday) | 8:15 p.m. Oct. 5 | Amazon Prime
Week 12: vs Packers (Thanksgiving) | 12:30 p.m. Nov. 23 | Fox
Week 16: at Vikings | Dec. 24
Week 18: Lions vs Vikings
ANALYSIS
8:13 p.m. -- The Packers and Bears will play in Week 18, which means the Lions will face the Vikings in their finale. (The NFL schedules all divisional games in Week 18.) That’s a refreshing change of pace, after Detroit faced Green Bay in the finale in six of the last seven years.
8:01 a.m. -- A half-hour later, two more games have leaked for the Lions, and yep, both of them are on the national stage too. Detroit will travel to Lambeau Field for a Thursday night game against the Packers in Week 4, before hosting the Packers for the Thanksgiving game back at Ford Field, according to The Score. With three games already scheduled for the national stage, it’s clear the NFL believes Dan Campbell’s Lions will be for real (or at least compelling).
While the schedule is already shaping up to be one of Detroit’s most compelling in years, there could be an early toll too. Playing in Kansas City is one of the toughest asks in the league, and the Lions now have to do it in prime time to kick off their season, before playing Thursday games in October as well as November. Players hate the short turnaround, and Detroit has it twice, not even counting the Thursday night opener. Tough. Fun, but tough.
7:26 a.m. -- The Detroit Lions have become one of the trendiest teams in the league. We won’t have to wait long to see just how for real they might be.
The NFL will kick off the 2023 season by sending Detroit to Kansas City for a prime-time game against the defending world-champion Chiefs on Sept. 7, according to The Score. That’s a huge nod of respect for a team that wasn’t scheduled for any prime-time games last season, before being flexed into Sunday night in Week 18. It’s also a tall test for a team that is already favored to win a division it has never won, and hasn’t won a division title of any kind since taking the old NFC Central back in 1993.
Arrowhead Stadium might be the most difficult place to play in the league, while Patrick Mahomes might be the most elite player in the league -- he is coming off his second straight MVP season -- and the Chiefs have been the most dominant team in the league for the last half-decade. Now they’re coming off their second Super Bowl victory in four years, and will begin their defense against the upstart Lions on the national stage.
Detroit roared back to life down the stretch last season, winning eight of its final 10 games despite playing the youngest roster in the league. Now almost everyone is back, while a wave of free-agent signing has reimagined their biggest weakness in the secondary, and their unconventional draft class features expected starters like running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell and tight end Sam LaPorta.
Now they are set to make their Lions debuts in front of the country, providing an early litmus test for just how real these young Lions are. And they’re embracing the rising tide of expectation.
“It’s time to win,” linebacker Alex Anzalone said. “It’s time to win now. There are no excuses going forward. There is no rebuild. There’s nothing like that. It’s just time to go.”
The full Lions schedule is expected to be released at 8 p.m. tonight.
Tom Brady will be honored at our home opener at Gillette Stadium.
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Everyone is surprised.
