Detroit Lions Announce 2015 Schedule
Allen Park, Mich. – The Detroit Lions announced their full 2015 season schedule today, which includes a franchise-record six nationally televised games and four games in prime time. Detroit will open the season on the road against the San Diego Chargers in Week 1 (Sunday, September 13) and begin the team's slate of home games with a Week 3 matchup vs. the Denver Broncos (Sunday, September 27) on NBC's Sunday Night Football.
When the Lions host the Broncos in Week 3, NBC will air SNF live at Ford Field for the first time. The last time the Lions hosted a Sunday night prime time game was a 20-3 victory over Tampa Bay October 31, 1999 that aired on ESPN. Additionally, this marks the fourth time since 2011 the Lions will play on SNF, with the three previous games occurring on the road.
Detroit travels to Seattle in Week 4 and New Orleans in Week 15 to face the Seahawks and Saints, respectively, on ESPN's Monday Night Football, marking the fifth-consecutive season the Lions will play on Monday Night. The last time the Lions played on MNF in five-consecutive seasons was over the course of the 1971-1975 seasons.
With games on SNF and MNF in back-to-back weeks (Week 3-4), the Lions will play consecutive prime time games for the first time since 1990 (MNF on ABC vs. Los Angeles Rams 12/10/90 and SNF on ESPN vs. Chicago 12/16/90).
In Week 13, Detroit hosts the Green Bay Packers on CBS's Thursday Night Football (December 3). The Lions will appear on TNF for the first time since December 20, 2000 (at Minnesota) and will host a Thursday Night game for the first time since October 15, 1999 (vs. Green Bay). The game also simulcasts on NFL Network.
In 2014, the first year of the CBS/NFLN Thursday Night package, CBS aired the first seven games and then a late-season Saturday night game. In 2015, CBS will air the first seven games and the Lions Week 13 game (12/3) vs. the Packers.
The schedule also features the Lions' 76th Thanksgiving Day Classic Thursday, November 26 at 12:30 p.m. ET vs. the Philadelphia Eagles on FOX (Week 12). This year's game marks only the second all-time meeting between the Lions and Eagles on Thanksgiving since they first met in 1968. Detroit is 35-38-2 all-time on Thanksgiving Day, and Detroit has claimed wins on Thanksgiving in each of the past two seasons.
With the Lions playing on Thursday in Week 12 and Week 13, Detroit will play Thursday games in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2000.
In Week 8, the Lions play the Kansas City Chiefs at Wembley Stadium in London (Sunday, November 1) as part of the NFL's International Series. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET with the game airing nationally on FOX. The matchup with the Chiefs marks the Lions' second-consecutive year playing a regular season game overseas after Detroit defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 22-21, in London in 2014.
For the third time since 1970 (1998 and 2012), the 2015 Lions' regular season schedule features four prime time games. In addition, this year's schedule becomes the fifth time the Lions will appear on national television at least five times over the course of a season (1990, 1994, 1998, 2012). With the additional CBS game in the preseason (Preseason Week 3: at Jacksonville Friday, August 28), the Lions have a total of seven national television games scheduled for the entire 2015 slate of games.
Over the past four seasons (2011-14), the Lions have played in 13 nationally-televised games, including at least two in each of those four seasons.
The Lions Bye Week occurs during Week 9 (Sunday, November 8) of the NFL season.
FLEX SCHEDULING
Flexible scheduling may be applied in Weeks 5-10. During that period, flexible scheduling can be used in no more than two weeks by shifting a Sunday afternoon game into primetime and moving the Sunday night game to an afternoon start time.
"Flexible scheduling" will be used in Weeks 11-17 as it has been in recent years. In Weeks 11-16, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday, Saturday or Monday nights. A flexible scheduling move would be announced at least 12 days before the game. For Week 17, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to December 28. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives "surprise" teams a chance to play their way into primetime.
"Cross-Flex"
For the second-consecutive year, a select number of games are being "cross-flexed," moving between CBS and FOX to bring potentially under-distributed games to wider audiences.
Week 1 - September 13 - Detroit Lions @ San Diego Chargers 4:05 PM
Week 2 - September 20- Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings 1 PM
Week 3 - September 27 - Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos 8:30 PM
Week 4 - October 5 - Detroit Lions @ Seattle Seahawks 8:30 PM
Week 5 - October 11 - Detroit Lions vs. Arizona Cardinals 4:05 PM
Week 6 - October 18 - Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears 1 PM
Week 7 - October 25 - Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings 1 PM
Week 8 - November 1 - Detroit Lions @ Kansas City (Wembley Stadium) 9:30 AM
Week 9 - BYE
Week 10 - November 15 - Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers 1 PM
Week 11 - November 22 - Detroit Lions vs. Oakland Raiders 1 PM
Week 12 - November 26 - Detroit Lions vs. Philadelphia Eagles 12:30 PM
Week 13 - December 3 - Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers 8:25 PM
Week 14 - December 13 - Detroit Lions @ St. Louis Rams 1 PM
Week 15 - December 21 - Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints 8:30 PM
Week 16 - December 27 - Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers 1 PM
Week 17 - January 3, 2016 - Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears 1 PM
