The Detroit Lions are set to play the Carolina Panthers early in the 2026 NFL season. According to multiple reports, the team is scheduled to face the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season on Sunday Night Football. It has been confirmed the team will play the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 on Thursday Night Football. Based on Detroit's popularity, they are reportedly scheduled to play two primetime NFL games in the first month of the 2026 NFL season. Despite the team's 9-8 record last season, team president Rod Wood expressed to reporters in Arizona at the owner's meetings he still expected the team to be featured quite a bit in primetime. “Based upon my discussions with (NFL vice president of broadcast planning) Mike North, I think so, yeah,” Wood said, via the Detroit News . "Because he was pushing back on a lot of my (schedule) requests. I think that there's still a lot of interest in the Lions, despite last year's little disappointment.…