On Thursday, the 2026 NFL schedule was released, and now we can all see when each Detroit Lions game is taking place after already knowing who they’d play.
Detroit, MI
3 things to love about Lions 2026 schedule
Here are three things that I love when looking at the 2026 schedule for the Lions.
1 p.m. ET start times get an uptick
I don’t know about you, but while I do love primetime games, my favorite time for the Lions to play is at 1 p.m. ET. Once the game is over, you still have a handful of games to watch in the 4 p.m. window. You can have them on in the background and eat dinner, and do a few things to prepare for Monday. After that, you have “Sunday Night Football” to end the weekend.
This season, the Lions have eight games that start at 1 p.m., compared to the five they had last year. That is the perk of having a weak schedule, playing teams that not many people want to see.
Only one “Monday Night Football” appearance
While I love primetime games, I don’t care for “Monday Night Football,” at least when the Lions are scheduled for it. It’s an extra day I have to wait to watch my team play, and they’re on a short rest for the following game.
I get the big appeal for “Monday Night Football,” don’t get me wrong. It gets more pregame coverage, more eyes than the Sunday night game, and has a special broadcast. The Lions’ only “Monday Night Football” game is Week 16 against the New York Giants, and thankfully it’s at Ford Field rather than in New Jersey.
Weak first half could give cushion for later in the season
While the Lions are supposed to have one of the easiest schedules in the NFL this season, anything can still happen in the league. Looking at the first half of the season (Weeks 1-9), the schedule is front-loaded with lower-tier opponents, so that when the second half comes around, the team might have some wiggle room if they go on a losing streak.
The first half opponents’ combined record from 2025 is 57-78-1. Their toughest game in the first nine weeks is on the road against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 on” Thursday Night Football.“ Outside of that, they play the New Orleans Saints to start the 2026 campaign. Afterwards, they have a matchup with former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and the New York Jets, then against the Arizona Cardinals, who currently have question marks at the quarterback position. Both of those teams finished last season with a paltry 3-14 record.
The back half is where things get tough, as the Lions’ opponents combined record from 2025 is 77-85-1. They start the second half in Germany against defending AFC Champion New England Patriots, who finished 14-3. They take on the defending NFC North champion Chicago Bears (11-5 last year) twice in the back half. Detroit also renews its rivalry with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who finished 8-9.
While the second half schedule is still below .500, it’s got some tougher matchups and schedule issues with it. From travelling overseas to playing three divisional road games in four weeks, if the Lions don’t start hot, the back half of the season could be punishing. I believe the Lions will start with a strong record before they face some bumps in the middle of the season, and they finish out with an above .500 record and a return to the playoffs.
DETROIT ― The crowd wasn’t large ― a smattering of about 40 or so people at Detroit’s historic Palmer Park just north of downtown on a warm and muggy summer evening.
The people who did show up were there because they feared something precious could be lost: the relationships between therapists and the people who trust them with their deepest wounds.
This is what democracy often looks like. A tent. Some speakers. Livestreaming on social media. And waning sunlight seemingly trying to figure out whether to set in fiery red-orange or fade behind rainclouds.
It was my pleasure to witness this moment firsthand because we live in a new era ― a period when the most powerful leaders in our government increasingly move to trample on our First Amendment rights. This was the second time within the past 30 days that I have found myself covering the debate surrounding Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s planned reimbursement policy changes affecting limited licensed mental health clinicians.
I’ve written previously about the policy itself. This time, though, something else captured my attention.
It was the people.
Last Friday night’s rally was organized by Caitlin Fleming, a mental health therapist and co-founder of Healer’s Choice, who demonstrated the kind of leadership that rarely makes headlines but often changes communities. She listened as much as she spoke. She created space for others to tell their stories. She reminded those gathered that advocacy is less about anger and more about refusing to become invisible.
At one point, Fleming shared that she lost her former husband to suicide.
Her words carried weight, especially because only days earlier I had written about losing my aunt Geraldine and how grief leaves permanent marks on those left behind. Mental illness, suicide and trauma are not abstract policy debates. Nearly every family carries a story. Every interruption in care has a human face.
That reality echoed through the entire evening.
Mars DeWitt, a limited licensed clinician who previously worked as a teacher, reminded us that change has happened before in Detroit. After addressing the audience, DeWitt told me that they watched the fight for teacher pay, recalling Detroit educators’ successful efforts to improve salaries. “So, I know it’s possible for therapists to fight back in a similar way.… Detroit is one of those inspiring cities in the world because we know how to fight back.”
Their words were less criticism than a declaration of home.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, connected the issue to another community she knows well: veterans.
“Every interruption in treatment increases the risk that a patient, including veterans, falls through the cracks,” she said. “Our veterans should not have to retell their trauma, rebuild our trust or start the therapeutic process from the beginning due to an insurance billing policy.”
Jess Riley of the National Association of Social Workers-Michigan added sobering context. Twenty-five Michigan counties have no psychiatrists. Ten neither have a psychiatrist or psychologist. The Upper Peninsula has no child psychiatrists and no pediatric psychiatric beds.
Whatever one’s position on reimbursement policy, those numbers reveal a behavioral work force already stretched dangerously thin.
Fleming also reminded the audience that communities of color are especially vulnerable to changes in insurance coverage policy because they understand what generational trauma in health care looks like. She cited historical abuses such as the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis. She emphasized that clinical supervision should not be a sign that therapists are somehow viewed as inadequate.
“We want people to be supervised not because they are not quality therapists; it’s the human experience. We should always be working in teams.
Notably, Fleming said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has not publicly released data estimating how many patients may lose access to their current therapists under the proposed policy. She said representatives from BCBS Michigan were invited to the forum but did not participate.
Regardless of where this debate ultimately ends, something encouraging happened last Friday evening.
Citizens assembled peacefully. They exercised their First Amendment rights. They shared data, personal stories and deeply held convictions. They urged elected officials to listen. They asked a powerful institution to explain itself.
That is not something to fear.
It is something to celebrate.
That’s because healthy democracies depend on citizens who care enough to show up – even if there are only 40 of them standing together in a Detroit park at the end of a long week, refusing to believe their voices don’t matter.
Byron McCauley is a regional columnist for USA Today Co. in Michigan. Email: bmccauley@usatodayco.com; call (513) 504-8915.
(WXYZ) — The highly-anticipated premiere of “The Odyssey” is officially here, with showtimes starting Thursday across metro Detroit.
The epic, directed by Christopher Nolan, was shot entirely with IMAX cameras, the first film to be shot with them. It will be available to watch in a variety of formats in the area and across the state.
On the website for the film, it lists all of the premium format options and where you can find them. Check out the details below.
IMAX 70mm
This is the premiere format to watch the film, presented in IMAX’s 1.43:1 expanded aspect ratio, according to the website.
“It is the largest and highest-resolution format available and gives you an unparalleled sense of immersion as the image fills IMAX’s signature floor-to-ceiling screen,” the website reads.
Across the country, there are only a 30 theatres that are capable of playing IMAX 70mm, and only one in Michigan. To see the film in that format, you’ll have to go to Celebration! Cinema in Grand Rapids.
IMAX
As we’ve said, “The Odyssey” is the first feature film shot entirely on IMAX cameras. “The film was shot and designed to be experienced on the biggest screen possible, and IMAX delivers on this,” star Anne Hathaway said.
It comes in the 1.90:1 expanded aspect ratio, filling your entire field of vision.
There are several theatres showing the film in IMAX in metro Detroit. They are:
- MJR Southgate
- MJR Troy
- AMC Forum 17 in Sterling Heights
- AMC Livonia 20
- AMC Star Great Lakes
- Cinemark Ann Arbor
70mm
The 70mm film is a large format that “offers a bright, clear image up to 3 times the resolution of standard digital projection formats,” according to the website. It’s shown at a 2.20:1 aspect ratio.
In metro Detroit, there are three theatres showing it in 70mm. They are:
- MJR Southgate
- AMC Forum 17 in Sterling Heights
- AMC Livonia 20
35mm
35mm is the classic film format shown at a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. “It projects light through the entire 35 millimeter frame to deliver clear, high resolution images with rich analog color,” the website reads.
Only the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor is showing the film in 35mm.
Dolby Vision
According to the film’s website, The Dolby Vision projection system has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
“Dolby Vision allows you to experience every detail and nuance captured by the large format film cameras Christopher Nolan used in production,” the website reads.
You can see the film in Dolby Vision at AMC in Clinton Township, Sterling Heights and Great Lakes.
Premium Large Format
The premium large format movie will be in either 2.39:1 or 1.85:1 aspect ratio, depending on the theatre. “It features larger wall-to-wall screens, superior projection technology, including laser projection,” the website reads.
Here are places you can see “The Odyssey” in Premium Large Format.
- MJR Southgate
- Emagine Royal Oak
- Cinemark in Taylor
- MJR in Sterling Heights
- Emagine Woodhaven
- MJR Westland
- The Riviera in Farmington
- Emagine Canton
- MJR Partridge Creek
- Emagine Rochester Hills
- Emagine Macomb
- Emagine Novi
- MJR Chesterfield
MJR Waterford - Phoenix Theatres in Monroe
- Emagine Saline
- MJR Brighton
- Emagine Hartland
Brother Nature Host Jack Nissen joins FOX 2 Detroit Live Host Aaron Jordan for a “Brother Nature @ Night” segment! The two talk about Jack’s completion of his backyard project, as well as his adventures on the Huron River and at the Detroit Zoo.
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