Detroit Lions 2020 preseason schedule

Obviously, there is plenty of uncertainty whether the NFL season will start on time. That is even more true for the NFL preseason, which is expected to kick off in early August—just three months away.

But as the NFL released the 2020 regular season schedule, they also dropped the preseason schedule.

The Detroit Lions will open things up against the all-too-familiar New England Patriots in Week 1 of the preseason. This, obviously, opens up the opportunity for joint practices, since both teams know each other so well. Last year, the two teams had joint practices in Detroit, but this time the game will be in Foxborough.

Week 2, the Lions will be nationally televised on ESPN as they host the New York Jets for some preseason Thursday Night Football.

The all-”important” dress rehearsal game is set to be against Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins. Then the Lions finish things off, as they normally do, with the preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills.

Here’s a look at the entire preseason schedule. Note that the exact dates of a few games have not been set yet.

UPDATE: The Lions finalized dates and times on May 15.

Week 1 - Thursday, August 13 — at New England Patriots — 7:30 p.m. ET
Week 2 - Thursday, Aug. 20 — New York Jets — 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Week 3 - Thursday, Aug. 27 — at Miami Dolphins — 7:30 p.m. ET
Week 4 - Thursday, Sep. 3 — Buffalo Bills - 7:30 p.m. ET