Lions vs. Bears is still Germany game possibility

On Monday, reports confirmed that the Detroit Lions will play in Germany in Week 10 of the 2026 NFL season.

Kickoff is set for 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 15 from FC Bayern Munich Stadium. But, the opponent hasn't been revealed yet.

While division rivals used to be off limits for international games, that isn't the case anymore. As the league has expanded its number of international games, the NFL now lets teams protect two division rivals instead of all three.

Lions president and CEO Rod Wood spoke with Brad Galli recently and shared that the Chicago Bears could still be a possibility as the Lions' Germany game opponent.

"If you are chosen to play internationally, you used to be able to eliminate all your division opponents, so you wouldn't have to play a division opponent in an international game. They changed that rule a couple years ago given how many international games we're playing now. You start eliminating that many teams, it makes it difficult to schedule.

"So, we get to eliminate two teams. So, we will not play Green Bay and we will not play Minnesota in Germany. I would be surprised if we play the Bears, but that is a possibility. I know there are a couple of teams that are campaigning to be our opponent over there, who also has interest in marketing in Germany, so I would suspect it might be one of those two teams that I know are anxious to play us over there and it would not be a division opponent, but it's possible to be the Bears," Wood said.

One thought among Bears fans was that Chicago could meet the Atlanta Falcons in an international game, but the league announced that the during Week 9 on Sunday, Nov. 8. Does that take the Lions and Bears one step closer to meeting in Germany? Fans can find out on for certain on Wednesday morning.