Panthers might face sleeping NFC giant on Sunday Night Football

The full 2026 NFL schedule won't be officially released until later this evening, but the leaks are starting to trickle out more and more with each passing hour.

It's starting to look like the Carolina Panthers will face a daunting gauntlet of teams to begin their season, including matchups with the NFC's top two seeds from 2025. Those may not be the only serious heavyweights they face in the first month of their season, either.

According to this (rumored) schedule leak, the Panthers will be hosting the Detroit Lions at Bank of America Stadium in Week 4 for a Sunday nighter . . .

On paper, the Lions only won one more game than the Panthers last season and finished last in the NFC North. Detroit's 9-8 record, however, would have been good enough to win the NFC South title.

If this rumor turns out to be true, Detroit will make for a tough prime-time challenge for head coach Dave Canales, quarterback Bryce Young and company. The Lions pride themselves on a physical style of football, beginning with domination at the line of scrimmage.

Overall, Detroit was clearly missing their former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson—who moved on to become head coach of the Chicago Bears. But the Lions are much better than their 2025 record may indicate, and the Panthers might find that out in what could be their first Sunday night appearance since 2016.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: 2026 NFL schedule release: Panthers rumored to face Lions on SNF