Dates, times set for Detroit Lions' three preseason games in 2026
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Dates and times for the Detroit Lions' three preseason games for 2026 have officially been set.
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The Lions will start their exhibition schedule with a road contest at the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. They'll welcome the Washington Commanders to Ford Field on Aug. 22 at noon, and they'll close the slate by visiting the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 29 at 1 p.m.
In recent years, the Lions have participated in joint practices with at least one of their preseason opponents. In 2025, it was the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans. That won't be the case in 2026, as the team decided to axe joint practices, with Lions coach Dan Campbell explaining "it just felt counterproductive."
"I felt like we got two really good years of it. Like, man, we're really getting something out of this. Then, as it kind of went on, we got into that third year … it didn't feel like we were getting what I thought we would get out of it. … We would have gotten an extra practice and we'd have gotten more done had we just gone against ourselves," Campbell said in March.
"I want to kind of keep this about us. Let's go to work, set the schedule up and we can hit everything. We don't have to get ready for the next opponent in a joint practice, we go right through it. We've got first down, we've got third down, we've got red zone, we've got backed up, we've got four minute, we've got two minute, we've got situational work, we've got special teams involved, mock games. And let's just go."
The Lions under Campbell have typically opted against playing their starters in the preseason. Campbell, however, indicated the team could "play some of these guys in the preseason more than we have," given the absence of joint practices, which is usually where the starters have gotten most of their work.
Detroit Lions 2026 preseason schedule
- at Cincinnati Bengals (Aug. 13 at 7 p.m.)
- vs. Washington Commanders (Aug. 22 at noon)
- at Indianapolis Colts (Aug. 29 at 1 p.m.)
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Lions preseason schedule 2026: Date, time for each exhibition