When do the Detroit Lions play today?

Short answer: they don’t!

Welcome to Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season, which began Wednesday this week with two Christmas Day games between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers and then continued with an afternoon matchup of the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. T

This is the most sprawled out week of NFL action perhaps ever, with games on Wednesday (Ravens vs. Texans, Chiefs vs. Steelers), Thursday (Bears vs. Seahawks), Saturday (Chargers vs. Patriots, Broncos vs. Bengals, Cardinals vs. Rams), Sunday and last but not least, Monday.

The Lions do not play on Sunday, playing in the last game of the week on the road against the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of last year’s NFC championship.

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Here’s a quick look at the Lions in Week 17.

Do the Lions play today?

No. The Lions do not play on Sunday, but will be in action on Monday for Monday Night Football on ABC & ESPN against the 49ers. Before the season, a lot of people circled their calendars for the Week 17 NFC championship rematch between the Lions and 49ers as one of the games of the year. While the stakes remain high, it certainly won’t be one of the biggest games of the year anymore. Pretty much everything that could go wrong for the 49ers this year has, and Kyle Shanahan’s team has already been eliminated from the playoffs but will be trying to play spoiler. The Lions have already locked up their spot in the postseason, but depending on what the Vikings do in their matchup with the Packers, the Lions could potentially lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win.

Watch Lions-49ers on ESPN+

The Lions played on Monday Night Football earlier this year, beating the Seattle Seahawks, 42-29, in a shootout at Ford Field. The Lions are 7-8 on Mondays since 1999 and 2-1 under Dan Campbell.

The extra day of rest this week will be given back heading into Week 18, as the Lions prepare for a potentially huge game in the final week of the season against the Vikings.

HOW DO THEY COME UP WITH THESE TRICKS: How trio of Detroit Lions assistant position coaches fuel trick plays, player development

Week 17 schedule NFL

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Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams got a 15-yard penalty for taunting Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson for the second time this season on Sunday. The former Alabama All-American got the first during the Lions’ 23-20 victory over the Bears on Nov. 28, then picked up another in a 34-17 win on Sunday.

“He was great,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said about his sideline talk with Williams after Sunday’s penalty. “Came over and it’s just, ‘Look, you can’t give them a free ride.’ He knew. It’s just, ‘Get it out of the way and get back on the field.’ And he was good.

“That’s what I love about him. He doesn’t get bent out of shape. He just said, ‘I got it.’ And he goes back in and it doesn’t affect the way he played the rest of the game. He was great. I love where he’s at right now. I really do.”

The NFL was not as understanding. Williams was fined $11,255 for the infraction, the league announced on Saturday. The NFL did not fine Williams for his taunting penalty on Nov. 28.

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Williams wasn’t the only former Alabama standout fined by the NFL for taunting during a Week 16 game. Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, a former Hoover High School star, also was fined $11,255 for taunting. Humphrey was not penalized during the game for the transgression, but the NFL still imposed the fine after the cornerback held out the football behind him toward his pursuers as he returned an interception for a touchdown in a 34-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.

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Two other players from Alabama high schools and colleges were among the 22 fined by the NFL for Week 16.

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama) got an $11,255 penalty for a face-mask penalty.

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Colby Wooden (Auburn) got a $6,150 fine for an unnecessary-roughness penalty.

The NFL uses a collectively bargained schedule of fines to determine the amount of monetary punishment. The NFL’s Schedule of Fines also comes with a list of aggravating and mitigating factors that can affect the size of a fine.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.

The Detroit Tigers saw an influx of young players push the team into a surprise postseason push. Next year could have even more prospects make their debut,

So far this offseason, the Tigers finally made a signing to address the offense in Gleyber Torres and have added Alex Cobb to the pitching staff.

Signing Alex Bregman is the last major move left to make before season that Detroit is projected to be involved in. After that, it looks like it will be on the farm system to provide any additional upgrades.

Luckily, there are a couple of top prospects that look near ready to make their debuts.

Lee is the highest-rated prospect on this list, as all of his peers above him in the farm are either already in MLB or are further away.

He spent all of 2024 in Double-A and posted a .298/.363/.488 slash line with 12 home runs and 16 RBI in 87 games. There could be a path to playing time for him at shortstop given how poor they have played there in the past. He could also just be a utility infielder at the next level.

Melton mostly lives on his mid-90s fastball. He had a breakout 2023 that saw him post a 2.74 ERA. That number ballooned to 5.10 last year.

He has great control of his pitchers, rarely walking batters, but still needs to generate more misses. He could be a call up to help out in the backend of the rotation at some point, where he can eat some innings if need be.

Bigbie was a 19th-round selection in the 2021 draft and spent all of last year at the Triple-A level.

Like Melton, he had a great 2023 but struggled in 2024. Two seasons ago, Bigbie posted .343/.405/.537 slash line with 19 home runs. Last year, though, his OPS dropped to just .667.

If he can find his swing again, he could become a corner or depth outfielder. His glove isn’t good enough to carry him alone.

Silva was acquired at the last trade deadline in a deal that sent Mark Canha to the San Francisco Giants.

He looks more like a bullpen guy than anything, making his money with breaking balls. He pitches well against both righties and lefties and is coming off of a month that saw batters post just a .120/.185/.120 slash line against him.

The 22-year-old won’t start the year in the Majors, but is a prime mid-season call-up candidate if he can find a bit of consistency.