How many primetime games will the Detroit Lions have in 2025?
Are the Detroit Lions ready for another season in the national spotlight?
Last season, the Lions played seven primetime games. They played on “Sunday Night Football” against the Los Angeles Rams (Week 1), Houston Texans (Week 10), and Minnesota Vikings (Week 18). They had a pair of back-to-back Thursday games in Week 13 and Week 14, the first of which was the annual Thanksgiving Day game. Both games happened to feature fellow NFC North foes, the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers . Finally, they had two “Monday Night Football” tilts, one in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks and one in Week 17 against the San Francisco 49ers .
Considering how starved the Lions have been for primetime games in the past decade or so, 2024 was a significant change to the status quo. Will 2025 continue that trend?
Today’s Question of the Day is:
How many primetime games will the Detroit Lions have in 2025?
My answer: Six.
I think we can guarantee at least three games: the Thanksgiving Day game (as expected), one Sunday night game, and one Monday night game. Early in the NFL season when the schedule is not flexed, the marquee matchups for primetime games are teams that were good the season prior. Despite the playoff faltering, the Lions were still a 15-2 team that delivered a must-watch offense. It would be stunning if the Lions did not have at least one primetime game in the first month of the season. Sprinkle in another game or two, and five primetime games seems like a reasonable starting place.
As the season progresses, however, the ability for networks to flex games enters the conversation. Starting in Week 5, a game can be flexed into or out of a primetime spot. We saw this with the Lions and Vikings in Week 18, a pivotal division and conference battle between heated rivals. At the time of the initial schedule release, this date was simply to be determined.
I think the Lions could start the season with five primetime games, but by season’s end, they could be looking at six. The NFC North is slated to be another battleground division, and all four teams are realistically in the running entering training camp. The Lions, Vikings, and Packers went a combined 40-11 last season, and if the Bears improve, that win total could be approached yet again in 2025. If the division is on the line towards the end of the regular season, I think a flexed game would be almost guaranteed.
How many times will the Lions end up in the national spotlight? Let us know in the comments below.