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The official NFL schedule for 2025 is out, and one Detroit Lions game rises above the rest as the most important of the season.
A new season coming up in less than four months, and the NFL just announced the full 2025 schedule this week. Now, teams are studying that schedule and determining which games are going to be fairly easy and which will be tough. Now, there are no easy games in the NFL. It’s not uncommon to see top ranked teams fall to bottom-feeders. But, looking at the schedules, it’s not too hard to determine which games will likely be more difficult than others.
The Detroit Lions have one of the most difficult schedules in the NFL this year, tied for No. 2 in the league with the Chicago Bears. That’s a bummer, but hopefully that won’t stop them from having a great season. Now, NFL analyst expert Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports is predicting the most important games of the season for each NFL team, and that includes the Lions.
Detroit Lions’ Huge Game
In a May 15 feature for Fox Sports, Vacchiano pinpoints the most important game for every NFL team in 2025. In the story, he notes that, “Everyone in the NFL says it at some point during the season: This is the game we circled on our calendar.”
He adds that, “Players and coaches say it every year. Sometimes they say it several times. Usually it’s about rivalry games. Sometimes it’s a playoff rematch. Often times, it has something to do with revenge.” His tally includes games that are a “big test, a huge rivalry or an opportunity for revenge that should be juicy enough for everyone in the organization to get excited about.”
For the Detroit Lions, it’s a big one: the Lions vs. the Bears in Detroit on September 14.
“Dan Campbell might deserve most of the credit for the rebirth of the Lions, but his offensive coordinator Ben Johnson sure got a lot of the hype,” he stated in the feature. “Now, after spending a few years riding the biggest wave of the NFL’s offseason hiring cycle before he finally landed in Chicago, this will be his first chance to coach against the team he left.”
Vacchiano added, “And while there’s no apparent bad blood with his old employer, he’ll surely relish showing Detroit what it lost.”
Christmas Games Galore for the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions, as mentioned earlier, have one of the most difficult schedules in the NFL. On May 9, the NFL released the predicted “strength of schedule” for all 32 NFL teams. The team with the toughest schedule was the New York Giants, while the team with the easiest schedule was the San Francisco 49ers.
Also, the NFL released its 2025 schedule of games on May 15, and all eyes were on the league announcing three Christmas games. It’s only the third time in NFL history that Christmas Day will be home to a regular-season tripleheader. The teams playing on Christmas Day include the Commanders vs. Cowboys at 1 p.m. Eastern time, the Vikings vs. Lions at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time and the Chiefs vs. Broncos at 8:20 p.m. Eastern time.
The NFL’s latest holiday schedule in 2024 featured a doubleheader on Netflix. This year, the games are on Netflix (Commanders vs. Cowboys and Vikings vs. Lions) and Amazon Prime (Chiefs vs. Broncos).
Anne Erickson Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy.com and Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson
