Lions Likely to Face Eagles in 2025 Season Opener<\/p>\n
The Super Bowl-winning Eagles will host the first game of the 2025 season, and the Lions seem like the obvious choice for their opponent.<\/p>\n
As is now tradition, the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will kick off the 2025 NFL season on the first Thursday night. ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter quickly highlighted several compelling options for their opponent.<\/p>\n
The Detroit Lions have already played in an opening Thursday night game, defeating the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to start the 2023 season. That victory signaled to the league that they were no longer the “Same Old Lions.”<\/p>\n
Kevin Patra of NFL.com analyzed four potential Eagles opponents for the season opener, with the Lions appearing first on his list.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NFC matchup that didn\u2019t happen in the 2024 playoffs due to the Lions’ shocking loss to the Washington Commanders. Even with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson leaving, Detroit should still feature an explosive offense led by Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. Facing the Eagles\u2019 top-ranked pass defense would set up an exciting opening-night showdown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw how Vic Fangio\u2019s defense stifled the Chiefs. Could the Eagles do the same against the Lions, who boast a stronger offensive line? Detroit\u2019s struggling defense should regain key players, including star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson, which would create an electrifying battle against the league\u2019s best offensive line. Dan Campbell\u2019s Lions have drawn massive viewership numbers, including their 2023 Kickoff Game against Kansas City. Will the NFL want Detroit in the opener twice in three years, or would it prefer to save a matchup of the NFC\u2019s top two teams for a later prime-time game?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lions Are an Obvious Choice for Eagles’ 2025 Season Opener<\/p>\n
According to Anthony Crupi of Sportico, the Lions were the most-watched team during the 2024 regular season. Their 10 standalone window and primetime games played a major role in that, offering NFL fans an alternative to the usual heavy presence of the Chiefs and Cowboys in those slots.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Crupi noted:<\/p>\n
\u201cAcross 10 nationally televised games, Campbell\u2019s squad attracted 22.6 million viewers per game, narrowly surpassing Dallas, the usual ratings leader, by about 175,000 viewers.\u201d<\/p>\n
That trend continued in the playoffs, as Detroit\u2019s loss to the Commanders became the fourth most-watched Saturday Divisional Round game in FOX history.<\/p>\n
The opening Thursday night game always draws massive TV ratings, being the first meaningful NFL action in roughly seven months. A Lions-Eagles matchup would feature two of the NFC\u2019s top teams and could serve as an early NFC Championship preview.<\/p>\n
The NFL rarely misses a chance to maximize viewership and revenue. While an Eagles NFC East rivalry matchup would be a solid option, the Lions traveling to Philadelphia to start the 2025 season would be far more compelling. The official schedule is expected to be released in mid-May, so we\u2019ll know for sure then.<\/p>\n
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Lions Likely to Face Eagles in 2025 Season Opener The Super Bowl-winning Eagles will host the first game of the 2025 season, and the Lions seem like the obvious choice for their opponent. As is now tradition, the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will kick off the 2025 NFL season on the first Thursday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[378],"tags":[383],"class_list":["post-25171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions","tag-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n