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Detroit Lions schedule: List of 2019 opponents coming into focus

By Zac Snyder

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 09: Detroit Lions players interlock arms during the playing of the national anthem prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on December 9, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 09: Detroit Lions players interlock arms during the playing of the national anthem prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on December 9, 2018 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /
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As the Detroit Lions’ 2018 season winds down, the list of opponents on their schedule for the 2019 NFL season is coming into focus.

Watching the scoreboard and standings for the playoff picture is a lot of fun but that is not a reality for the 2018 Detroit Lions. Instead, all that matters for the Lions in the final two weeks of the season is their draft position and how the list of opponents on their 2019 schedule will be completed.

Most of the list of opponents the team will play next season has been set for some time. The annual division home and road games make up six of the 16 games and the NFL’s rotation between divisions makes up another eight. NFC divisions rotate through the other NFC divisions on their schedule every three years and AFC divisions every four years. Teams in the NFC North will play each team in the NFC East and AFC West next season.

That leaves just two opponents yet to be determined to round out the Lions’ list of opponents for the 2019 season. Based on the NFL’s scheduling procedures, those games will be filled by teams from the two NFC divisions that do not already appear on the Lions’ schedule. For 2019, that is the NFC South and NFC West. These division crossover games are matched up based on the final 2018 standings.

The home and road slate is as follows.

Home games: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, NFC South opponent

Away games: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, NFC West opponent

We know the Lions will not win the NFC North but they could still finish as high as second if they win out and the Vikings lose out. Anywhere from second to fourth is in play heading into week 16.

The NFC South looks a lot like the NFC North in that its division champion has already been crowned but the other three teams have little separation between them. That leaves the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the possible final home opponent added to the Lions’ schedule in 2019.

Things are a little more orderly in the NFC West, which will complete the Lions’ road slate for 2019. The Los Angeles Rams have already wrapped up the division, guaranteeing that the Lions will not see them on their schedule next season. The Seahawks are locked in to a second-place finish making it clear what needs to happen for the Lions to see a road trip to Seattle on the 2019 schedule. Just one game separates the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers for third and fourth place in the West.

Next. 8 Detroit Lions who could be gone in 2019. dark

While the “who” and “where” are very fomulaic, the NFL will not release the full “when” in the form of the full weekly schedule until next April.

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