DETROIT – The Detroit Lions will kick off the 2017 regular season on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Lions are looking to return to the playoffs, one year after losing in the wild card round.
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ClickOnDetroit's Derick Hutchinson and Ken Haddad debate the outcome of the schedule, game-by-game, below.
Lions game-by-game predictions:
Week 1: vs. Arizona Cardinals (D:L, K:W)
D: We all know the Lions will jump out to a three touchdown lead sometime in the second quarter, and the air in Detroit will be thick with Super Bowl hype. The question for the Lions in Week 1 after they blow the lead is always whether or they can come back and win anyway. This year, I think the Cardinals will be too tough.
K: Arizona has peaked in the Carson Palmer era. Their defense isn’t as scary as it used to be, and Larry Fitzgerald is old. Yes, David Johnson might get 200 yards on the ground, but the Lions should be able to get to Palmer and their No. 17th (PFF) ranked offensive line. Lions win their home opener.
Week 2: @ New York Giants (D: big fat L, K: Sneaky W)
D: Last season the Lions were 9-4 and on a five-game winning streak when they visited the unfriendly confines of MetLife Stadium, and that's where it all went wrong. The Lions lost by 11 points despite out-gaining the Giants by 24 yards, and they didn't win another game.
K: The Lions don’t win on Monday Night Football and they definitely don’t win on a MNF road game. This is why I’m picking the Lions to win here again. The Giants are always beatable. They have no running game, and one of the worst O-Line’s in the league. ODB isn’t fully healthy. Lions can steal this one.
Week 3: vs. Atlanta Falcons (D: Super L, K: L)
D: Fresh off a near Super Bowl victory, the Falcons will come to Detroit with the 0-2 Lions desperate for a win. Unfortunately, it might be the toughest game on the schedule. Matt Ryan will have his way with the Lions' average secondary and drop them to a fatal 0-3.
K: Although most Super Bowl losers have terrible years to follow, the Falcons are still stacked on offense and have way too much firepower for a still young Lions defensive core. Falcons win this, and probably by a lot.
Week 4: @ Minnesota Vikings (D: L, K: W)
D: Even though the Lions swept the Vikings last season, the gap between the two teams wasn't that wide. Minnesota finished the season 8-8, just a game behind Detroit, and would have been in the playoffs if not for an overtime loss and a three-point loss to the Lions in their two meetings. This year, I think the Vikings will win the home meeting.
K: Show me an offense led by Sam Bradford, and I’ll show you a terrible offense. Vikings defense is legit, but if the Lions can squeak out a touchdown or two, they should be able to steal this one on the road.
Week 5: vs. Carolina Panthers (D: W?, K: L)
D: I could go either way on this one, but it's so unlikely that the Lions will start 0-5 that I feel obligated to call this one a victory. The Panthers were a weird team last season, winning just six games in their NFC Championship hangover tour. They should be somewhere in the middle this season, but it's a winnable home game for the Lions.
K: Too many weapons and a likely reinvigorated Cam Newton make it hard to believe the Lions would win this. The Lions haven’t proved they can shut down play makers. Panthers take this at Ford Field.
Week 6: @New Orleans Saints (D: W, K: L)
D: No matter how hard I try, I can't get the images of last year's Lions-Saints game out of my head. It was the best the Lions looked all season, and the only game of the season in which they didn't trail in the second half. It might be closer than 28-13, but the Lions continue to own the Superdome.
K: Lions have gotten too lucky against Drew Brees over the last couple of years. I think Brees gets his revenge on Detroit at home.
Week 7: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (D:L, K: L)
D: If the Lions got off to a hot start, the hype surrounding this game would be through the roof. Following their bye week, the Lions get to host the Steelers on Sunday Night Football, a game between two of last year's playoff teams. Unfortunately for the Lions, the Steelers were a much better team, finishing 11-5, and should be once again this season. Ben Roethlisberger and Le'Veon Bell for the win.
K: Night game against the Steelers at Ford Field! Will be fun for the fans, until the game starts. Steelers are sure to dominate this one. Forward down the field for a loss in Detroit.
Week 8: @ Green Bay Packers (D:L, K:L)
D: All I've heard this offseason is how the Packers didn't get any better and the Lions finally have a chance to steal the NFC North Division title. That means Aaron Rodgers will lead them to a 13-3 season and an NFC Championship game. Besides, the Lions already picked up their win at Lambeau Field for this decade.
K: You’d think getting the Green Bay road game in November would give the Lions a shot here, but add in the Monday Night Football part and it’s hard to see the Lions knocking off Aaron Rodgers on the big stage. Packers win, per usual.
Week 9: vs. Cleveland Browns (D: easy W. K: Must W)
D: By this point, the Lions will have been virtually eliminated from any playoff chance and the fans will be clamoring for change, so of course, the Lions will rip off a few wins. It will start against the Browns, because, well, it's the Browns.
K: Coming off back-to-back national television losses, the Lions need to lick their wounds with a win against a lowly Cleveland Browns team with a rookie quarterback.
Week 10: @ Chicago Bears (D: road W, K: W)
D: Remember when the Bears went an abysmal 3-13 last season? Remember when the Lions lost to them on the road and needed a touchdown in the final minutes to avoid losing to them at home? The Lions have dominated the Bears in recent seasons, sweeping them in 2013, 2014 and 2015 (shoutout Brandon Marshall). There's no reason to believe the Bears will be much better this time around.
K: Trap game here for the Lions. They need to beat Chicago, a division rival, or their season is in serious trouble. Lions should easily win this one, but it might be closer than we’d like.
Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings (D:W, K: L)
D: The bandwagon will really be packed after the Lions inch closer to .500 with their third straight win. They'll probably be a game or two out of the wildcard and all of Detroit will be crunching the standings. But realistically, this game just a lot going in the Lions' favor. It's at home, it's on Thanksgiving and it's against another middling opponent.
K: After back-to-back wins against terrible teams, the Lions are sure to drop this one at home against the Vikings, who at this point might have their defense really rolling.
Week 12: @ Baltimore Ravens (D:L, K:L)
D: This will be the back-breaker, as the Lions' chance to make a late-season push falls flat in Baltimore. The Ravens were an average team last season, but the Lions haven't had success against decent teams on the road. Here's to the Lions defense making Joe Flacco look elite (but is he?).
K: I think the Lions and Ravens are somewhat evenly matched, but at Baltimore, I’m giving this one to the Ravens. Lions are never good against Danny Woodhead.
Week 13: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (D: Nail-in-the-coffin L, K: L)
D: #NeverForget the Buccaneers Disaster of 2013, Lions fans. Remember, when the Lions started 6-3, had a lead in the NFC North and both Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler got hurt? The hapless Buccaneers, who would finish the year 4-12, marched into Ford Field with the Lions absolutely needing a win and dashed their hopes. It was the latest example of the Lions finding new ways to punish their fans (there have been several others since).
K: What Derick said. The Bucs are going to be fun to watch.
Week 14: vs. Chicago Bears (D:W, K:W)
D: With eight losses and no mathematical chance at the playoffs, the Lions will make sure to pick up one last victory to cost themselves four or five draft positions heading into the offseason. But with how terrible the Bears have been recently, can you really blame this one on the Lions?
K: Entering the final stretch of the season, the Lions need to win this game to stay alive. Derick has them out already, but I’m still drinking the Koolaid.
Week 15: @ Cincinnati Bengals (D: Jingle L's, K: W)
D: Don't cancel Christmas, but the Lions will lock up a losing record on Dec. 24 in Cincinnati. The Bengals had been one of the most consistent teams of the decade before missing the playoffs last year, and I really don't see the Lions winning a cold, December game on the road against a team with a pulse.
K: Like the Lions tend to do, they will string us along for one more week, hoping they can catch a wild card with an eighth win against Green Bay in the final week. Lions steal this one in Cinci.
Week 16: vs. Green Bay Packers (D: L, duh, K: L)
D: The Lions had actually been very good against the Packers at home in recent years, until the catastrophe that was 2015. Detroit had a sweep of the Packers all but locked up when a personal foul on the last play gave Rodgers one last chance, and Jim Caldwell unfathomably allowed the Packers to win on a Hail Mary pass. The loss shattered any chance of the Lions making the end of the year interesting, and it carried into last season, when the Packers swept the Lions in two games that weren't as close as the final score made them appear.
K: Happy New Year’s Eve! It won’t be that happy, though. Lions will never beat Green Bay when it matters, and it’ll surely matter for the Packers at this point in the season.