After a phenomenal regular season in 2024 for the Detroit Lions, they were ousted almost immediately from the postseason after a huge loss to the Washington Commanders in the NFC Divisional Round. It was a brutal wake up call for a team with championship expectations: they were close, but not close enough, to being true contenders last season.
However, because of how spectacularly they played in the 2024 regular season, the league took notice of the teams' greatness. As a result, the NFL has decided to give the Lions one of the hardest slates for the 2025 season. They face off numerous times with their almost-as-formidable NFC North counterparts, and they deal with teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on the road.
One thing's for sure: if they play well in those matchups, it becomes immediately clear that they should be Super Bowl favorites once again. But, there's no way around it: it's a ridiculously tough schedule, and Detroit is surely getting tested in 2025.
But, the NFL decided to throw the Lions a bit of a bone as it relates to their schedule before we find out exactly what each week will serve up to them tomorrow - they travel the least amount of miles in 2025 of any NFC North team, and the fourth-least in the league. Phew.
Lions travel fourth-least out of entire NFL in 2025 season
Per Bill Speros and a post shared by ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Lions travel some of the smallest amount of miles in the NFL this season.
Thirty-two NFL teams will travel 625,947 miles this season. Here is the breakdown, via @billsperos: pic.twitter.com/WJ2sU5hrVG
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 13, 2025
11,411 miles traveled is the smallest amount traveled by any NFC North team, whereas the Minnesota Vikings made headlines for becoming the only team this season that'll have back to back weeks of games internationally. As a result, they're the NFC North team with the most miles traveled.
This is a great sign for the Lions' schedule release. While it's a difficult slate of games against recent Super Bowl champions, their NFC North compatriots, and other aspiring contenders, limiting the number of miles the team has to travel to take on these teams makes the prospect of beating them a lot easier to swallow.
