For the first time in 10 years, the Detroit Lions have a short week because of a Monday night game. Every year they deal with an extremely short week in the lead-up to Thanksgiving, but they haven't had one fewer day of preparation because of a Monday night game in 10 years.
I'm sure Jim Schwartz would have liked more time to get ready for Sunday's game since the 4-1 San Francisco 49ers are coming to Ford Field. The 49ers have been one of the many surprise teams in football this season, and they are coming off of a 48-3 beatdown of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. San Francisco's only loss this season came in overtime to the Dallas Cowboys, so they were really one play away from being 5-0 just like the Lions.
The 49ers are led by head coach Jim Harbaugh, who left Stanford for the NFL at the start of this year. Back in late December, everybody seemed to be pointing to Harbaugh as the replacement for Rich Rodriguez, who hadn't even been fired yet by Michigan. When Rodriguez was finally let go, rumors about Harbaugh persisted, but all signs pointed to him leaving Stanford for an NFL job. In the end he did leave for the NFL, and Michigan hired Brady Hoke from San Diego State. The two coaches are a combined 10-1 right now, so I'd say the moves are working out quite well for all involved right now.
At the start of the year, nobody expected this to be one of the best matchups of Week 6, but it'll be the 4-1 49ers vs. the 5-0 Lions on Sunday. Detroit is looking for its first 6-0 start since 1956. Interestingly enough, their sixth win that year came against 49ers, so the Lions are hoping history repeats itself on Sunday.