One of the things we didn’t love about the 2026 Detroit Lions’ schedule was their 12-day gauntlet from November 15-26 that includes three games for the Detroit Lions: an international game against the New England Patriots in Munich, Germany, a tough home test against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and their Thanksgiving matchup against the Chicago Bears.
While the Lions have this three-game stretch around Thanksgiving nearly every year, the 2026 schedule adds a layer of difficulty with Detroit’s international
trip in the midst of all of that. Many fans were hoping the Lions would have a bye week in there to provide some rest after the international trip.
But if you’re blaming the NFL schedule makers for their lack of a bye week, apparently you’re aiming your frustrations at the wrong people. The league held a conference call this week to explain the schedule-making process, and one of the key contributors in the construction of the schedule, vice president of broadcasting planning Mike North, said the Lions—particularly president Rod Wood—knew full well what they were getting into when Detroit made a hard push to play in the Germany game.
“We knew that Germany game was going to be a mere two weeks before Thanksgiving, and it was important enough to Rod, to the organization, to our international folks, certainly to your wide receiver [Amon-Ra St. Brown] that it made a lot of sense for the Lions to play in that Germany game,” North said.
In short, the Lions entered the agreement knowing that with the game so close to Thanksgiving, the NFL wasn’t likely to give Detroit a bye week going into that game because their holiday opponent, the Chicago Bears, would be working off a short week.
Instead, Wood focused his efforts on ensuring the Lions got a mini-bye following the Thanksgiving by putting in a request to not have back-to-back Thursday games like they have done the past two Thanksgiving. That request was granted by the league.
“They were really hoping to see that 10-day break post-Thanksgiving as opposed to yet another Thursday to Thursday,” North said. “Credit to the team, really, for volunteering. They knew what they were getting into, and I think it broke the way they hoped it would.”
The good news for the Lions is that most teams playing an international game this year won’t have the benefit of a bye week the following week. As pointed out by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, only three of 16 teams playing internationally will have the benefit of a post-international bye game: the Jaguars, the Saints, and Detroit’s Germany opponent, the Patriots. New England was likely given that bye week specifically because they don’t play on Thanksgiving.
But if you’re still looking to blame the NFL schedule makers for something, look to the Lions’ opponents after the Munich game. While Detroit knew they weren’t going to get that bye, they probably weren’t happy to find out that their foes that week—the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—will be coming off their bye week. So while the Lions will be adjusting to life back in the states, Tampa will be heading to Detroit well-rested.
