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On Wednesday afternoon, the NFL announced that the schedule for the 2021 season will drop on Wednesday, May 12—or just under two weeks after the NFL Draft. NFL Network will be airing a “Schedule Release ‘21” special that Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET, breaking down the biggest matchups of the year.
Of course, for the Detroit Lions, we already know what the matchups will be. The Lions will be playing six games in the division as they do every year, plus games against every NFC West team (Rams, Seahawks, Cardinals, 49ers), every AFC North team (Bengals, Browns, Steelers, Ravens), games against the Eagles and Falcons, plus the new 17th game against the Denver Broncos.
But what has yet to be determined is the order of the games, the Thanksgiving Day opponent, the amount of nationally televised games, and whether Detroit will be traveling to London this year. We already know that the Atlanta Falcons will host a non-divisional game in London, and the Lions are one of five teams that may be the visiting team in that matchup.
This year, the league will support a 17-game season for the first time in league history, along with a decrease to just three preseason games.