How to Watch Detroit Lions Games in 2026

Thanksgiving football at Ford Field isn’t going anywhere. But almost everything surrounding it looks a little different for the Detroit Lions in 2026. Detroit opens at home against New Orleans, gets an early Thursday night trip to Buffalo, plays multiple primetime games and takes a home game more than 4,000 miles away when the Lions face New England in Munich, Germany. Then, just 11 days after that international game, Chicago comes to Ford Field for another Thanksgiving Day Classic.

And the season may ultimately come down to the NFC North. Detroit finishes with road games against Chicago and Green Bay after playing Minnesota on Sunday Night Football in December. For Lions fans, that’s a season worth planning around—especially if you’re traveling. A VPN can help you access the streaming services you already use while you’re away from home, while NFL Sunday Ticket remains an option for eligible out-of-market Sunday afternoon games in the United States.

Three Chapters of the Lions’ 2026 Season

Rather than immediately throwing a list of channels and streaming services at you, Detroit’s schedule makes more sense when you break it into three parts.

September and October: A Lot of Football Away From Ford Field

The Lions begin the season at home against New Orleans, but much of the early schedule takes Detroit elsewhere. That includes an early Thursday Night Football trip to Buffalo, followed later by a Sunday night road game against Carolina. After the bye, the schedule finally settles down for a pair of important home games against Green Bay and Minnesota. That means Lions fans who travel during the first half of the season should pay particularly close attention to where each game is airing. Detroit moves between traditional Sunday broadcasts and national streaming windows rather quickly.

November: From Munich Back to Detroit

This is where the Lions’ schedule becomes unlike almost anyone else’s. Detroit faces Miami on November 8. One week later, the Lions play the New England Patriots in Munich, Germany, with Detroit serving as the designated home team. Then they head back to Ford Field for Tampa Bay. Four days later? Thanksgiving against the Chicago Bears. Detroit essentially goes from an international NFL showcase back into one of the league’s oldest American football traditions in less than two weeks. For Lions fans, November could be the most memorable viewing stretch of the season.

December and January: Here Comes the NFC North

The end of the schedule looks much more familiar. Detroit plays Minnesota on Sunday Night Football in December, then hosts the Giants on Monday night before closing the regular season with Chicago and Green Bay. Those final two games are both on the road. If the NFC North remains competitive late in the year, Detroit could enter January with its postseason position determined almost entirely by divisional football.

Thanksgiving in Detroit Is Still the Centerpiece

Some games are important because of the standings. The Lions on Thanksgiving are important because it’s the Lions on Thanksgiving. Detroit hosts the Chicago Bears on Thursday, November 26, continuing one of the NFL’s most recognizable traditions. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS. That makes watching straightforward if you’re at home. Thanksgiving travel can make things considerably less straightforward.

Millions of Americans spend the week somewhere other than their normal home setup. If you’re a Lions fan watching from a relative’s house, hotel or somewhere farther away, make sure you know how you’re accessing CBS before kickoff. If you normally watch through a streaming service, this is also one of the situations where having a VPN already installed before you travel can be useful. You can connect and access the streaming services you already use while you’re away from home. We’ll get deeper into our Lions VPN recommendation later. For now, just remember: Bears vs Lions on Thanksgiving on CBS.

Detroit Goes International: Lions vs. Patriots in Munich

Eleven days before Thanksgiving, Detroit football looks completely different. The Lions face the New England Patriots in Munich, marking Detroit’s first international regular-season game since playing Kansas City in London in 2015. For Lions fans in Europe, this is a rare opportunity to watch Detroit without adjusting to an American kickoff time. For fans back in Michigan, it’s the opposite. International NFL games can mean a much earlier start than a typical Sunday at Ford Field, so check the kickoff time before making your normal game-day plans. The Munich matchup also reinforces something that’s increasingly true about NFL fandom: You don’t necessarily have to live anywhere near Detroit to be a Lions fan. And when the team itself is crossing the Atlantic, it makes sense to talk about how fans can follow them while traveling too.

Lions Streaming & VPN Questions

Where to Watch Lions Games in 2026

Detroit doesn’t live on one channel this season. For ordinary Sunday games, FOX and CBS remain important. The Lions also appear in several national windows that require different services. Here’s the quick version.

• FOX remains one of the primary places to find NFC games and carries several Lions matchups throughout the season.
• CBS gets several Detroit games, including the Thanksgiving Day game against Chicago.
• Detroit has Sunday Night Football appearances during the season, including the late-season matchup against Minnesota on NBC.
• The Lions have a Monday Night Football appearance late in the season against the New York Giants on ESPN/ABC.
• Prime Video features Detroit’s early Thursday night trip to Buffalo streams nationally through Prime Video.
• Sunday Ticket is most relevant for Lions fans who live outside Detroit’s television market.

Detroit Lions 2026 Schedule

Here’s the Lions regular-season schedule and where the games are currently scheduled to air.

Week	Opponent	TV / Streaming
1	vs. New Orleans Saints	FOX
2	at Buffalo Bills	Prime Video
3	at Los Angeles Rams	FOX
4	at Carolina Panthers	NBC
5	vs. Dallas Cowboys	FOX
6	BYE	—
7	vs. Green Bay Packers	FOX
8	vs. Minnesota Vikings	FOX
9	at Miami Dolphins	FOX
10	vs. New England Patriots — Munich	International Game
11	vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers	FOX
12	vs. Chicago Bears — Thanksgiving	CBS
13	at Philadelphia Eagles	FOX
14	vs. Seattle Seahawks	FOX
15	at Minnesota Vikings	NBC
16	vs. New York Giants	ESPN/ABC
17	at Chicago Bears	FOX
18	at Green Bay Packers	TBD

Check the official schedule closer to each game for kickoff times, network updates and potential NFL flex-scheduling changes later in the season.

What If You’re a Lions Fan Outside Michigan?

There are Lions fans throughout the country, and Detroit’s recent national profile means plenty of people follow the team far beyond Michigan. The important thing is understanding what out of market actually means. Suppose Detroit is playing a Sunday afternoon game on FOX. NFL Sunday Ticket is useful fo eligible out-of-market Sunday afternoon NFL games. If Detroit is playing Sunday Night Football on NBC, you’re not dealing with regional FOX coverage. Thursday Night Football is nationally streamed through Prime Video.

Best VPN for Detroit Lions Fans: ExpressVPN

For Lions fans, our top VPN choice is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN offers a Detroit server location, which gives Michigan users a particularly relevant connection option.

It’s worth explaining one detail accurately: ExpressVPN lists Detroit as a virtual server location. That means users can select Detroit as their VPN location, while the physical server infrastructure providing the connection may be located elsewhere. For the average Lions fan, the experience remains straightforward: select Detroit in the ExpressVPN app and connect. But local server availability isn’t the only reason we recommend it.

• It’s Built for More Than One Sunday: We don’t want a VPN that’s only useful during three hours of football. ExpressVPN can stay useful throughout a trip. You can use the encrypted connection when you’re on hotel Wi-Fi, working remotely, browsing or accessing other services away from home.
• Streaming Performance Matters: Live sports isn’t a good place for an unnecessarily slow connection. ExpressVPN is designed for high-speed use and provides automatic server-selection tools if you don’t want to manually compare different locations.
• Traveling Outside the United States: ExpressVPN operates a large international server network, so it remains useful whether your trip takes you to another state or another country.
• Use It Across Your Devices: ExpressVPN supports popular phones, computers and compatible streaming devices, allowing your VPN setup to travel with you.

Affiliate Disclosure: VPNForSports may earn a commission if you purchase through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Traveling Is a Different Problem

If you’re simply away from home for a weekend, you may already have access to the streaming services you need. That’s where a VPN becomes much more interesting. You can use a VPN to establish an encrypted connection and access the streaming services you already use while you’re traveling.

That might mean watching from:

• A hotel during a work trip
• Family’s house over Thanksgiving
• An airport during a travel day
• Another state during vacation
• Outside the United States

And because Detroit itself is going international in 2026, this is a particularly fitting year for Lions fans to think about their travel setup.

1. Regional coverage: Your local CBS or FOX station has been assigned another game. Check Sunday Ticket for eligible out-of-market Lions games.
2. Broadcast rights: The Lions game is on a different network or streaming service that week. Check the schedule before kickoff.
3. Location restriction: You’re traveling and a service you normally use has become geo-blocked. A VPN may help unblock your normal Lions stream in this situation.

These restrictions are sometimes all described as Lions blackouts, but knowing which one you’re dealing with tells you where to start.

How to Use a VPN for a Lions Game

There’s no reason to make this complicated.

If you’re going to be away during a Lions game:

1. Install ExpressVPN before traveling. Don’t wait until kickoff.
2. Open ExpressVPN and connect. Choose an appropriate server location for your situation.
3. Check where Detroit is playing. The broadcaster changes throughout the season.
4. Open the streaming service you already use. Sign into your existing account.
5. Watch the Lions. You’ll still need access to the service carrying the game. A VPN doesn’t replace your CBS, FOX, Prime Video or other streaming subscription.

Instead, think of ExpressVPN as the travel and connection layer of your setup.

From Munich to Thanksgiving

Detroit football has one of the NFL’s most recognizable traditions. In 2026, that tradition gets surrounded by something very different. The Lions cross the Atlantic to play New England in Munich. Eleven days later, they’re back at Ford Field for Thanksgiving against Chicago. December then brings Minnesota under the lights, Monday Night Football and two road division games to close the season. For fans in Michigan, FOX and CBS remain the foundation of the viewing schedule.

For Lions fans elsewhere in the United States, NFL Sunday Ticket can fill eligible out-of-market Sunday afternoon gaps. And for anyone whose own travel schedule gets in the way of football, ExpressVPN gives you a way to securely access the streaming services you already use while you’re away from home. Detroit may be going international in 2026, but Lions football is still coming home for Thanksgiving.