Detroit Lions 2024 game-by-game predictions

Game One: LA Rams (Sept. 8)

Mack: If Sunday Night Football, the return of neo-enemy Matthew Stafford, a rematch of last year’s Wild Card playoff round, and an SRO crowd making more noise than an erupting volcano can’t motivate this team in its home opener, it’s gonna be a looong season.

Lions, 42-24 (1-0)

Doom: L.A. wins it on a 66-yard field goal as time expires. Stafford is gracious in the post game interviews, opting not to call out his legion of latter-day haters in SE Michigan.

Los Angeles, 38-35 (0-1)

Game Two: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sept. 15)

Mack: Two rematches in a row! This one a sequel of last season’s NFC divisional round won by the Lions 31-23. The Bucs lost a number of key starters from that team, and it may take them more than one game to swashbuckle again. Aaaarrgh!

Lions, 31-23 (why not? 2-0)

Doom: Lions take out their aggressions from the Game One loss. Offense and Defense split the TDs at two apiece.

Lions, 28-10 (1-1)

Game Three: at Arizona Cardinals (Sept. 22)

Mack: An ideal team for the Lions to begin their road schedule. The Cardinals are rebuilding more often than we used to, and coming off back-to-back 4-13 seasons the construction may be far from complete.

Lions, 41-14 (3-0)

Doom: Not sure why McFarlin keeps giving Lions final scores that represent probable field goals. Everybody knows DC goes for it on every 4th down.

Lions, 42-12 (2-1)

Week 4: Seattle Seahawks (MNF, Sept. 30)

Mack: Remember when you couldn’t see the Lions on Any Night Football? But we’re the darlings of the league in ’24, and this first of two Monday Night games pits the Lions against arguably their toughest opponent thus far. We’ll want to put our best paws forward, but the Seahawks have beaten us six straight times, handed us our first loss in ’23, and there’s no reason to believe the curse won’t continue.

Seahawks, 34-24 (3-1)

Doom: Seattle finishes with QB Sam Howell under center. It won’t be pretty.

Lions, 28-10 (3-1)

Week 5: BYE

Doom: 39,000 people post “Lions won't lose this week” on social media, but the joke doesn't land anymore.

Week 6: at Dallas Cowboys (Oct. 13)

Mack: The Lions will be smarting after their first loss of the season, and with an extra week to prepare and Dan Campbell growling them on, expect cameras to catch Jerry Jones cursing throughout the game.

Lions, 24-21 (4-1)

Doom: Detroit edges it out and solidifies its title as the true “America’s Team.”

Lions, 28 -26 (4-1)

Week 7: at Minnesota Vikings (Oct. 20)

Mack: This should be the most fascinating game of the season so far. Our NFC North division rivals have made wholesale changes at quarterback, running back, and edge rusher, among other positions. But they’re still the Vikes, and we’re playing them on the road after their bye week. They find a way to nip us at the end.

Vikings, 28-27 (4-2)

Doom: Lions by an extra point. Vikes QB Sam Darnold is traded to Saskatchewan after the game.

Lions, 21-20 (5-1)

Week 8: Tennessee Titans (Oct. 27)

Mack: The Titans aren’t anywhere near as scary without running back Derrick Henry, and this was about the time of the season last year when the Lions busted out a statement win to avenge a close loss. We’ve never beaten the Titans since they moved from Houston. Until now.

Lions, 38-21 (5-2)

Doom: Lions caught looking ahead to the Pack next week, and the two-point conversion fails.

Titans, 21-20 (5-2)

Week 9: at Green Bay Packers (Nov. 3)

Mack: Good news: the Lions’ first outdoor game of the season is being played at Lambeau Field in early November, so Green Bay shouldn’t have their freezing c-c-cold home advantage. Bad news: this Packers team is young, talented, cocky, playing at home after a road game and before their bye week, and won’t forget we’ve beaten them in Lambeau the last two times out. Revenge ain’t sweet.

Packers, 28-17 (5-3)

Doom: With a 60 mile-an-hour wind at new Lions’ new kicker Jake Bates’ back, the Lions attempt their first field goal of the season and win it.

Lions, 24-21 (6-2)

Week 10: at Houston Texans (Nov. 10)

Mack: Tough call here. Will the glow of the national spotlight on Sunday Night Football be enough to overcome the weariness of a fourth road game in five weeks? Or will the Lions be taking the limelight for granted by midseason? We may not be favored in this one, but remember who you are, men: it’s Detroit vs. Everybody.

Lions, 24-17 (6-3)

Doom: Hutch sends that Buckeye QB C.J. Stroud to the showers. Backup Case Keenum should have preceded him: he’s pathetic.

Lions, 27-20 (7-2)

Week 11: Jacksonville Jaguars (Nov. 17)

Mack: The Jags have a lot to prove to themselves and their fans after losing five of their last six games last season. This was about the time when Jacksonville’s losing streak started, and the Ford Field leatherlungs aren’t likely to let them forget it.

Lions, 31-13 (7-3)

Doom: This is the game where Lions fans try to StubHub their tickets for financial reasons. Only problem is, the Jags have no fans there to take them.

Lions 28-21 (8-2)

Week 12: at Indianapolis Colts (Nov. 24)

Mack: Road trip, anybody? Indy had one of the lousiest defenses in the NFL last season, and while it might have improved marginally this year, the Lions air and ground games should light up the scoreboard — as long as the defense can keep mobile QB Anthony Richardson in check.

Lions, 38-24 (8-3)

Doom: Mobile QBs give the Lions more headaches than road construction detours with more road construction.

Colts, 35-34 (8-3)

Week 13: Chicago Bears (Nov. 28)

Mack: It is a hallowed, yet horrendous Detroit Thanksgiving Day tradition: no matter how good the Lions are, they will find a way to lose and ruin your family’s turkey dinner. The much-improved Bears can’t wait to lay some hard knocks on us and keep the streak alive, especially as QB Caleb Williams makes his Detroit debut.

Chicago, 28-14 (8-4)

Doom: Our defense ain't losing to a rookie QB if it was a Tuesday morning game.

Lions, 28-14 (9-3)

Week 14: Green Bay Packers (Dec. 5)

Mack: Remember what I said about revenge ain’t sweet? Check that: the Lions have a way of bouncing back from nauseating Turkey Day performances and taking it out on their next opponent. With this Thursday Night Football showcase giving them a full week between games, they’ll be excited to pay back the Pack for handing them an “L” at Lambeau.

Lions, 28-21 (9-4)

Doom: Pack by a point. Yeah, I hate me for this pick too, but it's the Packers and it seems like a split is inevitable.

Packers 28-27 (9-4)

Week 15: Buffalo Bills (Dec. 15)

Mack: Playing QB Josh Allen in Ford Field will be an advantage, but the Bills promise to give the Lions all they can handle, and then some. If we win, it’ll be by a wing(s) and a prayer.

Lions, 31-30 (10-4)

Doom: Noise in Ford Field? So what. Josh Allen goes for over 100 on the ground and Christen Harper’s hub (AKA Jared Goff) can’t match up in the end.

Bills, 34-28 (9-5)

Week 16: at Chicago Bears (Dec. 22)

Mack: The schedule gods let us avoid Green Bay in December, but no such luck with the wind howling off Lake Michigan into Soldier Field. The Bears boost their evolving confidence by making it a clean season sweep against Detroit.

Chicago, 21-14 (10-5)

Doom: So It's cold, so what? So are the Lions to their divisional foes.

Lions, 20-7 (10-5)

Week 17: at San Francisco 49ers (Dec. 30)

Mack: From the frigid field of Chicago to the golden gridiron of Levi’s Stadium, with an extra day to prepare. Our second Monday Night Football appearance of the season will be viewed nationally as a barometer of the relative strengths of these two Super Bowl contenders that faced off in last season’s NFC Championship. No horrendous second half this time.

Lions, 33-28 (11-5)

Doom: Lions give up fewer points, but it’s Bay-ja-vu all over again.

Niners, 27-26 (10-6)

Week 18: Minnesota Vikings (TBD)

Mack: Doesn’t it seem like the NFL schedulers always send the Vikings to Ford Field for the last game of the regular season just to screw with us? They did it last year, and we beat ‘em by 10. We will again.

Lions, 31-21 (12-5)

Doom: Purple-braided Vikings fans regret the snowy trip down from the Twin Cities.

Lions, 28-9 (11-6)

They agree: 12-5 or 11-6 easily takes the division.