Detroit Lions schedule tracker: Bears coming to town for Thanksgiving

ALLEN PARK -- We already know the opponents. By day’s end, we’ll know everything else about the Detroit Lions’ 2024 schedule too.

For now, here’s what we do know:

[1:30 p.m.] Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears are coming to Detroit on Thanksgiving, according to The 33rd Team. This is the fourth time in seven years that Chicago has visited Ford Field on the holiday. Detroit went 0-3 in those games, most recently a 16-14 loss in Dan Campbell’s debut season in 2021. The Lions are 3-1 in the series since that day, and 24-16 overall. -- Kyle

[12:11 p.m.] Consider this a sigh of relief update from yours truly, with the Lions being safe from Netflix’s Christmas slate of games. The 33rd Team reports the two games set for the league’s foray back into action on Christmas will feature two AFC matchups in the Kansas City Chiefs-Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans. We’re still more than seven hours away from the official schedule hitting the airwaves, so buckle up for a long day of rumor and innuendo. -- Ben

[9:21 a.m.] The Lions, who haven’t played overseas since making back-to-back trips to London in 2014-15, are long overdue for an international game. That won’t change this year either, as the Packers, Eagles, Jets, Vikings, Bears, Patriots, Jaguars, Giants and Panthers were tapped to play abroad. Here’s that schedule:

Week 1: Packers at Eagles (Sao Paulo, Brazil)

Week 5: Jets at Vikings (London)

Week 6: Jaguars at Bears (London)

Week 7: Patriots at Jaguars (London)

Week 10: Giants at Panthers (Munich, Germany)

Notice a trend? The rest of the NFC North is heading overseas this season, and both the Vikings and Bears are forfeiting home games to do it. That’s clearly a break for the Lions, although you have to imagine their time is coming imminently. And given they’ve never given up a home game since the yearly international series began, here’s betting you’ll see one less game at Ford Field whenever it happens, most likely in the next year or two at the most. -- Kyle