Lions 2022 schedule release: 5 things we love, 5 things we hate

It’s schedule time! The Lions 2022 schedule has been released and we have a ton of stuff to say about it. I mean we got takes on top of takes. We’ve gone over the schedule with a fine tooth comb and crossed the T’s and dotted the lower case j’s and we’ve come up with the five things we love and the five things we hate. Let’s get into it.

Love

This schedule lays out nicely

In 2021, the Lions had a really rough going in the first half of the season. It’s looking a lot different in 2022. The Lions pull the Eagles, Commanders, Vikings, Seahawks and Patriots before the bye week. Detroit could get out to a nice start given the quarterback situation with those teams. That’s Jalen Hurts, Carson Wentz, Kirk Cousins, Drew Lock and Mac Jones. Not exactly the biggest superstars in the world. This should help the Lions have a better chance at getting some wins early on in the year.

No 4 p.m. ET games

Who out there hates the Sundays when the Lions don’t play till 4:25? I know I hate it with all my heart. It sucks to wake up Sunday and wait all day for a game to come on. I don’t want to watch the Bears play the Texans or something like that, but I’m forced to. You can really set your watch to the Lions schedule this season. Fifteen 1 p.m. games and a 12:30p.m. mixed in for Thanksgiving. The last game—Week 18—is still yet to be determined.

The snow is mostly avoided

The Lions luck out again when it comes to the second half of the season and weather. Outside of spending Week 18 at Lambeau, the Lions spend December mostly at home under the roof or down south. They will play in the meadowlands against the Jets and there could be some snow there, but I’d bet money it won’t be as bad as what could go down in Green Bay where it’s probably snowing today despite it being May.

The season ends nicely for the Lions

Again, aside from that trip out to Green Bay, the schedule is kind to the Lions in the fourth quarter of the season. In December they’ll welcome the Jaguars, the only team worse than the Lions in 2021, to Ford Field at the beginning of the month. Then they have Cousins and the Vikings at home for their second showdown of the season, the New York Jets at the Meadowlands, they’ll then head to Carolina to take on Sam Darnold and the Panthers before taking on Justin Fields and the Bears at home. Then there’s Lambeau.

Christmas Eve

Maybe I’m alone here, but there’s something really fun about a game on Christmas Eve. Christmas is a weekend thing this year, so hopefully you’ll be able to enjoy this game with your family. Unfortunately, that also means listening to your crazy uncle talk about all the times this team broke his heart though. Maybe you’ll get an early present if the Lions win.

Hate

Facing the Packers in the final game of the season again

Seriously, NFL? This is starting to get ridiculous. The Lions played the Packers in the final game of the season in 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and now 2022. That’s eight times since 2010. Please make it stop. The worst thing is there’s just no winning here for the Lions. History tells us that this game is either a must-win game for the Lions to win the division/make the playoffs or it’s a meaningless game because the Lions have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. You can only hope that the Lions are 16-0 by then, and it won’t matter because the league has decided to give a team the Lombardi trophy before the playoff for the first time ever.

I know a division opponent is guaranteed now in the last week of the season, but does it have to be the Packers almost every, single year?

Bills on Thanksgiving

That’s a tough draw for the Lions. The Bills are one of the best teams in the league, and they have a tendency to beat up on teams. So, naturally, this is not the team you want to see the Lions play on Turkey day. You might want to eat early and pass out by halftime. The bright side is that the Lions aren’t playing the Bears again. The league actually did something interesting. Here’s hoping there’s a major upset in the works.

No prime time games

This is shocking to me. I get that the Lions were a three-win team in 2021, but they were seemingly everyone’s favorite three-win team. There were many national talking heads talking about how fun the Lions were to watch in 2021. To go along with that, the Lions had a big and newsworthy offseason. They got HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” Detroit is getting the NFL Draft in 2024, and the Lions arguably drafted the best defensive player and the best offensive player in the draft.

I figured after the world falls in love with Dan Campbell and the Lions this August that the everyone would want to watch them in a night game. There’s still time. Maybe the Lions will get flexed into a night game at the end of the season if the year goes right. That matchup with the Packers at Lambeau has primetime written all over it.

Early bye week

The Lions got the early bye again after having a nice year off from it in 2021. The Lions will take a break in Week 6 and then play 12 straight games with no relief. This is not good news for a team that was ravaged by injuries last year. The Lions are going to have to hope that that everyone stays healthy through that very long stretch of games. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if the season wasn’t a week longer these days.

The middle of the season is rough

The first five weeks and the last six weeks are pretty nice for the Lions. That middle part is rough, though. First of all, the Lions got shafted with that bye week. On the other side of the bye they get the Cowboys. Then they take on the Dolphins, who got hot last year. After that they have two divisional games against the Packers and Bears. Then their first trip to New York to face the Giants before that rough Thanksgiving game against the Bills. This is where things could really get off the rails during this time.