Lions' schedule leaks: Saints at home to open season, at Vikings on SNF

With the full schedule for the NFL's upcoming season set to be released Thursday night, we're getting some leaks on matchups around the league.

We have several dates to circle so far for the Lions: Sunday, Nov. 15 when they will play their overseas game in Munich against the Patriots and Thursday, Sept. 17 when they will visit the Bills in primetime. On Thanksgiving, the Lions will reportedly host Ben Johnson and the Bears.

They will reportedly open the season at home against the Saints on Sept. 13. The Saints are entering year two under head coach and former Lions backup quarterback Kellen Moore, who went 6-11 in year one. Rookie Tyler Shough took over as QB1 in the second half of last season for the Saints, who won four of their final five games and then spent four of their first five draft picks on offense, including receiver Jordyn Tyson eighth overall.

Staying in the NFC South, the Lions will reportedly visit the Panthers on Sunday Night Football in Week 4. Carolina made the playoffs last season for the first time in eight years and for the first time under franchise quarterback and former No. 1 pick Bryce Young, albeit while going 8-9 and winning a weak division. This will be a return to Carolina for Lions new edge rusher D.J. Wonnum, who spent the last two seasons with the Panthers and overcame some serious health scares along the way.

The Lions have two more primetime games against NFC opponents sandwiched around Christmas: at Minnesota on Sunday Night Football in Week 15 (Dec. 20) and versus the Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 16 (Dec. 28), per multiple reports.

The Vikings swept the Lions last season despite uneven quarterback play, two losses that derailed Detroit's playoff hopes. They acquired a new starter under center this offseason in Kyler Murray, then beefed up Brian Flores' defense with their first three picks in the draft, including defensive tackle and Detroit native Caleb Banks 18th overall.

The Lions survived an upset scare from the Giants last November thanks to 264 yards of offense and three touchdowns by Jahmyr Gibbs. The Giants look like a team that could take a real step forward this year under new head coach John Harbaugh, with quarterback Jaxson Dart taking full-time control of an offense full of weapons and the defense adding another playmaker to the front seven in fifth overall pick Arvel Reese.

The Thanksgiving matchup was reported Wednesday afternoon by NFL insider Jordan Schultz. It marks the fourth straight year that the Lions will face a divisional opponent on Thanksgiving, after playing the Packers last year and in 2023 and the Bears in 2024. The Lions swept last season's series with the Bears, but Chicago stole the division in its first season under Detroit's former offensive coordinator.

The Bears suffered some key losses this offseason in center Drew Dalman (who retired) and safeties Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker, but replaced the latter two with free agent Coby Bryant and first-round pick Dillon Thieneman and the former with second-round pick Logan Jones.

The Lions' opponent in Germany was reported Tuesday night and confirmed Wednesday as the reigning AFC champion Patriots. The game will kick off at 9:30 AM Eastern Time. It's the first international game for the Lions since the 2015 season when they lost to the Chiefs, 45-10, at Wembley Stadium in London.

The Patriots are led by third-year quarterback Drake Maye, who led the NFL in passer rating last season and finished second for MVP. They also had one of the top defenses in the NFL. They spent their first two picks in this year's draft on the same positions as the Lions: offensive tackle Caleb Lomu (28th overall) and edge rusher Gabe Jacas (55th).

The Week 2 matchup at Buffalo, confirmed by the NFL, could be the Bills' first game in new Highmark Stadium. It will be broadcast on Amazon Prime (and simulcast on local TV).

Last time these teams played, Josh Allen led the Bills to a 48-42 win over Jared Goff and the Lions at Ford Field late in the 2024 season.

Buffalo finished last season 12-5 and lost to the Broncos in the divisional round of the playoffs, after which they fired longtime head coach Sean McDermott and replaced him internally with offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

Dan Campbell, Jared Goff and the Lions have been a big ratings draw the past couple seasons, which has been reflected in their schedule. They had five primetime games last season and several more in national TV windows. They played just four Sunday games in the 1:00 window.

They are a popular team with the TV networks again this year as they aim to reload and bounce back from a disappointing 9-8 campaign.