With the draft complete, all Lions fans can do is wait until kickoff in September. There is lots of excitement with the takeover of new GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell. However, with the release of the schedule this week, the 2021 season could be another rough one for the Lions. Having to crossover against the AFC North and NFC West could make for a long season.

The Lions will kick off the 2021 campaign at home on September 12th against San Francisco. While it’s unknown who will start at quarterback for the 49ers, their roster is too strong and will probably hand the Lions a loss to start the season. It doesn’t get any easier for Detroit as they will have to travel to Lambeau week 2, for a matchup with the Packers on Monday night football. The following week, the Lions will have to take on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens at home. As you can see no favors were done for Detroit, who will most likely be 0-3 to start the year. The schedule lightens up slightly the next few weeks as they travel to Chicago and Minnesota, then host Cincinnati before they travel to Los Angeles in week 7 to play former franchise QB Matt Stafford and the Rams.

For Thanksgiving, the Lions will host the Bears for the third time in four years, before the final six-game stretch. During the Holidays, the Lions will travel to Atlanta to play the Falcons on December 26th, then travel to Seattle to take one the Seahawks on January 2nd in week 17. This is the first season where 17 games will be played over 18 weeks instead of 16 games over 17 weeks. The Lions will host the Packers on January 9th to finish the regular season.

There are lots of reasons to be excited about this season for the Lions, but the team success on the field shouldn’t be one of them. With that being said, there is a chance that players like Jared Goff over perform and the Lions surprise us all, but we will have to wait and see,.

My Prediction: The Lions will finish the season 5-12.