The Detroit Lions kick off the 2023 NFL season with a visit to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. The Thursday Night Football game gets a national audience and all sorts of attention for a Lions team perceived to be on the rise up the standings and in position for the team’s first playoff berth since 2016.
All 17 games have their own draws and storylines. We will watch them all, of course. However, there are five that stand out as the most interesting and integral to the Lions’ success in 2023.
Week 2: Seattle Seahawks
The home schedule kicks off against the Seahawks in what could be one of the biggest early-season matchups in the entire NFC.
There are several reasons why the Week 2 game is so intriguing. Seattle beat Detroit in a 48-45 shootout in Week 4 a year ago, also in Ford Field. The Seahawks made the postseason at 9-8 thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker they earned in the victory in Detroit. That makes this something of a revenge game, but also a measuring stick for the Lions’ progress from that abysmal defensive outing.
It also comes after the Week 1 visit to Kansas City. That game will draw tremendous hype, no doubt about it. I’m extremely curious how the Lions handle the outcome of that opener — whether they beat the Chiefs or lose in Arrowhead Stadium. This game will represent either a chance to prove that this group is resilient after a loss to a good team, or alternately if they can manage to string together impressive wins over 2022 playoff teams.
Week 4: at Green Bay Packers
When last we saw the Lions in Green Bay, they extinguished the Aaron Rodgers era with a 20-16 comeback win in the 2022 season finale. The win cemented a winning record for Detroit after a 1-6 start and also eliminated the Packers from the postseason.
Rodgers has (finally) given way to Jordan Love, who didn’t look ready for prime time when he faced the Lions in the 2021 finale. This game comes on Thursday night, meaning many in the world will be watching Love carefully for the first time.
Green Bay’s defense should be a strong challenge. But this game is about how Love plays and how Detroit’s defense handles him. The Lions have won three in a row against the Packers. A fourth straight victory in the series might finally convince folks these Lions are legit.
This is also Detroit’s only NFC North game before Week 11, our only real glimpse at potential divisional supremacy before late November.
Week 7: at Baltimore Ravens
There are a few points of intrigue for this matchup with Baltimore, where the Lions have not played since 2017 and have been outscored 111-33 in three franchise trips to Maryland.
Last year’s Lions were inept against dual-threat quarterbacks, and the Ravens have one of the very best of those in Lamar Jackson. Baltimore even added some desperately needed receiving help to balance the threat. This will be a good marker for how much progress Aaron Glenn’s defense has made with the talent upgrades.
Then there’s Jamo. The Lions will welcome back wideout Jameson Williams from his six-game suspension in this matchup. How quickly does he integrate? What impact does his world-class speed have on the rest of the Lions offense, and also how what looks like a very good Ravens secondary will handle it?
And finally, the presence of Justin Tucker on the Ravens might impact how Dan Campbell manages the game. The last time these two teams played, Tucker set an NFL record in a walk-off win with a 66-yard field goal at the buzzer in Ford Field in 2021. That’s what Tucker does; he’s arguably the best kicker in NFL history. Does that change how Campbell manages the game if it’s close? And would it work?
Big game full of questions that have not been answered affirmatively in Detroit’s way in the past.
Week 10: at Los Angeles Chargers
The Lions and Chargers only play every four years, so that lack of familiarity instantly builds intrigue. The fact both teams are seen as postseason contenders helps foment even more excitement.
This matchup comes immediately after the Lions’ bye week. It’s the only 4 p.m. ET start on the docket for Detroit, and it comes against a team the Lions franchise has never beaten in a road game.
It’s a tone-setting game for the back half of the schedule for the Lions. An unprecedented road win over what appears to be a good Chargers team would be a great way to kick off a Detroit playoff push.
Week 16: at Minnesota Vikings
The first of two meetings in three weeks with the defending division champs is one that figures to be rife with playoff implications once again. It’s hard enough to see through the crystal ball for one team, let alone two, but these do seem the most likely front-runners for NFC North supremacy once again.
Great teams win division games on the road in hostile environments in critical situations. Are the Lions truly a worthy postseason contender? This trip to Minneapolis will reveal a lot.
