Detroit fans looking to make a big trip to watch the Lions play in a new location will have to wait. With the NFL’s announcement that the Philadelphia Eagles will be the host team for the league’s first-ever regular season game in Brazil, it rules out the Lions from making the trip to Sao Paulo.
The Lions and Eagles will not play in 2024. Had the Eagles won the NFC East, as it looked like they were going to do up until late December, it would have been a possibility with both teams having a first-place schedule. Alas, the Eagles’ collapse allowed the Dallas Cowboys to win that one. The Lions are slated to play in Dallas in the upcoming season.
It’s unlikely the Lions will be playing outside of the United States at all in 2024. The Vikings and Bears will be the home team for games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. While there is no mandate against playing divisional foes on a neutral site, it’s not something the NFL typically schedules. The 49ers and Cardinals played in Mexico in 2022, and three division games have taken place in London, the last in 2017.
The Carolina Panthers will host the game in Germany this season. The Lions and Panthers also won’t play in 2024.
Detroit hasn’t played an international game since the 2015 season. Only the Steelers and Cowboys have gone longer without leaving the U.S. Detroit was slated to play the Jaguars in London in 2020, but the global pandemic canceled all international dates that year.