We know the first season of the Dan Campbell era will begin Sept. 12 in Detroit against the 49ers. We know it will end Jan. 9 in Green Bay -- barring the playoffs! And we know everything in between after the Lions' 2021 schedule was released Wednesday night.
After thorough review, here are the five most intriguing matchups.
5. Week 17 @ Seahawks
Last time Jared Goff played in Seattle, he came off the bench less than two weeks after having surgery on his broken thumb and ended the Seahawks’ season. When Goff returns with the Lions a full year later, the Seahawks and The 12’s will be out for revenge. A road game in Seattle, where the Seahawks are 60-18 since 2012, is always worth watching. Their only playoff loss during that stretch? Last season against Goff.
4. Week 12 vs. Bears
I know, I know. Another Thanksgiving matchup with the Bears, the third in the last four years. Nothing intriguing about that. Except that by Week 12 of this season, the Bears’ starting quarterback could very well be Justin Fields. The same Justin Fields the Lions passed on at No. 7 to draft OT Penei Sewell. Fields went four picks later to Chicago, and this might be his introduction to a rivalry he'll be a part of for years to come. That’s worth watching.
3. Week 2 @ Packers
The Lions didn’t get to play on Monday Night Football last season, their first snub in 10 years. They return to the stage in the same place they left it: Lambeau Field. The Lions lost a heartbreaker here in Week 6 of 2019, with the whole country watching, after a series of controversial calls in the fourth quarter. This is their chance for revenge. And who knows, maybe this is Detroit's first game against Jordan Love.
2. Week 1 vs. 49ers
It’s the first game of the Dan Campbell era. And the Brad Holmes era. And the Jared Goff era — however long that might last — and it comes at home in what will hopefully be the first capacity crowd at Ford Field in nearly two years. The place will be rocking, and Campbell will certainly have the Lions fired up to play. And in the off-chance this marks the NFL debut of third overall pick Trey Lance, the intrigue climbs even higher.
1. Week 7 @ Rams
Matthew Stafford against the Lions, the team he requested a trade from this offseason. Jared Goff against the Rams, the team that dumped him to acquire Stafford. Homecomings for Michael Brockers and Brad Holmes. 4:00 window in LA. The intrigue doesn't get much higher than that. Let’s play this thing today.