1 p.m. Eastern. That is your start time for every Lions game this year. Every one (Well, 12:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving and TBD for Week 18, but who’s counting) will be at the exact same time, in at most, only 1 time zone difference. No jet lag. No change in game day schedule, only one short week.
Boo hoo. No prime time games. Boo hoo, no America’s game of the Week at 4 p.m. This team will have normality and consistency on their side, with no unique scheduling hurdles to jump, and barely having to travel past the Mississippi River.
But the BYE week sucks! It is so early in the season! Yes, week six is early. But think of it this way… any PUP guys should be ready to go, after only missing five actual games. Also, the Lions have another “half bye” after week 12 anyway, so it almost works in their favor. They won’t have to play 11 consecutive Sundays in a row, and the team they have to play on that one weird Thursday game is the team on the schedule they were almost guaranteed to lose to anyway.
So yes, the Lions are the only team in the NFL to not get a primetime spotlight game. So what? I will take consistency for the players and a relatively easy travel schedule (I bet no other team has to travel less this year) over that any day. Did I mention they don’t have to play the Cardinals this year?
And take heart. This schedule might be conducive to getting the Lions some primetime games this season after all… in December and January, when it really matters.