Detroit Lions 2023-24 Schedule Breakdown

Well, it’s that time of the year again, and all of the NFL regular season schedules

have finally been released. This article will be focused solely on the Detroit Lions

regular season, and a game by game breakdown of how I think the games are going

to go.

Week 1- Sept. 7th: @ Kansas City

Season Opener on Thursday Night Football at Kansas City Chiefs starting off the NFL regular season, the Detroit Lions will be going to Arrowhead Stadium to face off against the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. I like this game because it is by far the Lions' toughest competition for the regular season, and they are getting it out of the way right at the start. I think that they will most likely end up losing this game, but I think it’s a good chance for the Lions to showcase how much they have improved the defense in the offseason. This is definitely a game that Detroit could’ve used Jamieson Williams for, and I think if he would have been able to play,

it would be a completely different ball game, but with him out, and it being the first game of the season, I don’t see the Lions winning this one. Expect for them to keep it close though, and for it to be a fun game of football to watch, with trick plays galore coming from the minds of Ben Johnson and Matt Nagy.

Week 2- Sept. 17th: vs the Seattle Seahawks

Detroit has some more tough competition early in the season, facing off against a team that gave them some problems last season, and that essentially beat them out of the NFC Wild Card spot at the end of the season. The last time the Lions played the Seahawks, they lost to them by a field goal, in an epic 48-45 loss at home. Do not expect the game this season to be as close. With the upgrades and improvements that the Lions have made on the defensive side of the ball, I expect them to come out in their home opener and completely shut the Seahawks down. I’m not trying to undermine the Seahawks as a team, because they are going to make it a tough game no matter what, but I have high expectations for the Lions in this

game, and think that if they can go out there and play lock-down defense, this should be a good win on the record.

Week 3- Sept. 24th: vs the Atlanta Falcons

This Atlanta Falcons offense is young and hungry, and they definitely need to go out and prove themselves if they want to be taken seriously this season. That being said, I don’t think that they’ve made enough improvements on their offensive line to hold up against Detroit's defensive line. If the offensive line can’t hold up, then Bijan Robinson is going to get swallowed up in the backfield, Desmond Ridder isn’t going to have any time to find his weapons like Kyle Pitts and London Drake. For those reasons, I believe that this will be one of Detroit’s best performances defensively, and with that momentum, hopefully a high scoring game on the offensive side of the field as well. This will also be the Lions' only game this season playing against Jeff Okudah, who they traded away this offseason. So, I’m excited to see what Detroit can do against a guy who knows and understands the Lions scheme, and whether or not he’ll be able to capitalize on all of his experience wearing the Honolulu Blue.

Week 4- September 28th: Thursday Night Football @ the Green Bay Packers

Detroit's first divisional game of the year, and it’s against the Packers on Thursday Night

Football. This is a game to get excited about, and expect for a battle of the ages. This

is going to be the showcase of a new era of NFC North dominance. Expect for the

Lions to show up big against the Packers, since they want to send a message to the

rest of the division that we will not be taken lightly. The Packers will obviously be

looking to do the same to us, but I just don’t see them winning this one, even with

home field advantage. I’m hoping there won’t be too many Lambeau Leaps on

September 28th , but we’ll see how the game goes.

Week 5- Oct. 8th: vs the Carolina Panthers

Even with the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, I just do not see a world where the Panthers can even keep this a close, competitive game. The Lions are going to get an extended break after their Thursday Night game against the Packers, so they will be well rested and well prepared for this Carolina team. The Panthers are putting a lot of faith into both Bryce Young, and rookie wide receiver Jonathan Mingo, but I believe they aren’t going to be enough to compete with the Lions defense. I hope that the Lions offense can go out and run up the score and get some serious highlights from this game, but I’m not expecting much of a performance from the Panthers here, and I can imagine that they will want to get off the field as quickly as possible on October 8th at Ford Field.

Week 6- October 15th : @ the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Lions will be heading south to Raymond Jay Stadium to face a Buccaneers team that is looking like a wounded animal going in to the 2023 season. They used their first round draft pick to take Calijah Kancey, defensive tackle, and they have a battle of mid-level quarterbacks between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. They really don’t have a lot going on for them going into this season and I don’t expect for them to be too much of a challenge for the Lions. This game will also be the last game of wide receiver Jamieson Williams suspension, so you’d have to think that the rest of the team will be very eager to put the Buccaneers into the dirt quick so they can get back to Detroit and start preparing him for the week 7 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

Week 7- Oct. 22nd : @ the Baltimore Ravens

This will not be an easy game for the young Detroit Lions team. With a well paid

Lamar Jackson, a young and eager Zay Flowers, and the always dangerous Mark

Andrews, this will be one of the toughest challenges for this young Detroit defense.

Even with the addition of Jamieson Williams at wide receiver, returning in this game

for his first game of the 2023 season, I just don’t think that the Detroit Lions will

have enough to beat this tough Baltimore Ravens team. I hope that they can prove

me wrong, but this will by far be their toughest challenge since their week 1 game

against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Week 8 Oct 30th : vs the Las Vegas Raiders on MNF

This will be the third primetime game for the Detroit Lions this season, and boy, will it be a good one. The Raiders made some pretty solid improvements to their defense through the draft and in the offseason, so expect there to be a lot of pressure on Goff

this game. I’m excited to see how the offensive line holds up, and what the strategy will be going into this game. I think that the Lions will be able to prove themselves on offense, and hold their own on defense. This will also be a great game to showcase the two highest drafted tight ends from the 2023 NFL Draft, Detroit’s Michael LaPorta vs Vegas’ Michael Mayer. This will be a great game for LaPorta to go out and show why the Lions chose him over Mayer, and solidify him as the best tight end from the 2023 draft class. I expect the Lions to win this game, but for the Raiders to keep it somewhat close.

Week 9- Bye

Week 10- Nov 12th : @ the Los Angeles Chargers

I’ve been a pretty big fan of this Chargers team for the last two seasons, having

Justin Herbert on my fantasy football team the last two years, so seeing them add

TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston in the first round of the draft this year, only

makes me think that they’re going to be a pretty dominant team this season. I

believe that the Lions can win this game, given the extra week of rest and

preparation, but I don’t think this one will end up falling their way. This will be a

gritty, junkyard dog of a game, and I think it will come down to the very last play of

the game, but I see the Chargers getting the win in this one, if Herbert is still healthy

by week 10.

Week 11 Nov 19th : vs the Chicago Bears

Week 11 and it’s only Detroit's second divisional game of the season. I don’t really think that there’s much that needs to be said about this one. I was really impressed with the Bears draft this year, and the improvements that they were able to make to their defense, but I expect this game to be a blowout. Even with the addition of D.J. Moore, and adding Riley Reiff to their offensive line, the Chicago Bears will not be able to keep up with the high pace and the intensity of the Detroit Lions.

Week 12- Nov 23rd : Thanksgiving vs the Green Bay Packers

Detroit's second time facing off against the Packers this season, this time at home and with Jamieson Williams back at wide receiver. I expect this game to be just like the Lions' game from the previous week against the Bears. Even with only 4 days between the week 11 match-up with the Bears, I still see the Lions absolutely taking the Packers to town at home. The Lions are trying to dominate the NFC North, and the only way that they’re going to be able to do that is showing up in these divisional games, and tearing the roof of the place every time. I see the Lions winning this one in a big way.

Week 13- Dec 3rd : @ the New Orleans Saints

The Lions look to head into New Orleans and send a message to their former

running back Jamaal Williams that they made the right choice in letting him go this

offseason. With the additions of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, the Lions are

looking to do some serious damage with their weapons in the backfield, and this

game is a personal one. I’m expecting the Saints to want to do the same, especially

Jamaal Williams, and I expect for Jamaal Williams to play with a fire under his ass

the entire game. I believe that Detroit have more than enough power to contain

Williams, and enough of a presence in the secondary to keep Jamies Winston’s

numbers low. I’m hoping for at least a couple interceptions this game from Winston,

so here’s for hoping. I see the Lions winning this one, but for the Saints to still bring

their A-game.

Week 14 Dec 10th : @ the Chicago Bears

I don’t really expect this game to differ too much from the first game vs the Bears earlier in the season, other than the weather. This is going to be a cold one for the Lions, so expect a lot of output from Gibbs and Montgomery in this game. I don’t expect a lot of long, or even medium passes from Goff in this one, but a lot of short and quick routes for the fellas. I don’t see this game being a blowout like the first, I think that given the weather conditions and the home field advantage, that the Bears will have a much better game of football, but I still have faith that the Lions are going to go out and beat the Bears, to put them at 4-0 in the division heading into Week 15.

Week 15- Dec. 16/17: vs the Denver Broncos

This will be a fun game to talk about when it’s all said and done, given the fact that most of my teammates here at Elevation:5280 are all Broncos fans/followers, but I have my Lions winning at home in a big way. Even with the addition of legendary coach Sean Payton, I really don’t have much hope in Russell Wilson. I think that there have been some decent improvements to the offensive line, which will give Wilson more time for reads, but with a lackluster runningback room, and a young tight end in Greg Dulcich, they’re relying heavily on Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, which will be an easy gameplan for Detroit. I see the Lions putting a hurting on the Broncos defense, and hope to see a high scoring game for the Lions to give them some serious momentum heading into their Week 16 game against the Vikings.

Week 16 Dec 24th : @ the Minnesota Vikings

This is a Minnesota Vikings team that Detroit was able to beat at the end of season last

year, I have a lot of hope that the Lions will be able to recreate that magic this year as well.

This is going to be a tough, tooth and nail game, if the Vikings can get things rolling

with Justin Jefferson and their new addition at wide receiver, rookie Jordan Addison.

They really didn’t do much to improve their defense in the offseason, so this game

will be in the hands of the Motor City defense, and their ability to keep up against the talent of

the Minnesota offense. I have faith in the defense, and see the Lions cruising into week 17

at 12-3.

Week 17- Dec 30th : SNF @ the Dallas Cowboys

This will be the 4th and final primetime game of the Lions season, and it will not be an easy one. This is a Cowboys team that made some significant improvements on defense in the offseason, and are shaping up to be one of the best defenses in the

league coming into the season. This is going to be a tough game for the Detroit Lions offense. I don’t think that they’re going to be able to do enough to beat this Dallas Cowboys team, even with all of the weapons that Detroit have on offence. I believe

Dallas will have the Lions' number this game, and they will prove to be the better team.

Week 18- Jan. 7th: vs the Minnesota Vikings

This is the last game of the regular season, and the Lions are ending against the Minnesota Vikings at home. This is going to be a fun, barn-burner of a game, and a good way to pickup team morale heading into the playoffs. They need to win this game to secure the divisional sweep, and confirm their spot as King’s of the NFC North. I expect a lot

of fun plays from the mind of Ben Johnson, and I would love to end the season by absolutely embarrassing the Minnesota Vikings, and ending with a 13-4 season.

My expectations for the season are obviously extremely high, but why wouldn’t they be? The Lions have a great looking young team with plenty of weapons. I’m expecting some serious output from Jamieson Williams once he returns from his 6 game suspension, but I believe that the breakout player on the offense is going to be the rookie runningback Jahmyr Gibbs. Not only is he going to put up some solid rushing numbers, but he’ll also be putting up real numbers in receiving yards as well. He’s a dual threat, and I expect him to be utilized well in this Ben Johnson offense.

This is also going to be a put up or shut up year for quarterback Jared Goff. Detroit drafted Hendon Hooker to show that they are prepared to start from scratch with a fresh young quarterback in 2024, but I believe that Goff is going to be a total stud this season, and that he’ll prove to be the franchise guy. Now, for the defense, I’m expecting a lot out of some key players like Aidan Hutchinson and Malcolm Rodriguez, and I believe that Alex Anzalone needs to go out and show all the doubters why he was worth keeping around. I’m also expecting a lot from Cam Sutton, C.J. Gardner- Johnson, and Emmanuel Moseley. I think with these additions to the secondary, that there is no reason why they shouldn’t be one of the top 10 best defenses in the league this year. I am excited to see how the Lions can perform this season, and I’m hoping that they can perform up to my expectations, and take the Motor City to the playoffs, and become the KINGS of the NFC North.