Let’s hope the current 2025 trend of either Sunday night being boring and Monday night giving us drama and/or fireworks — or vice versa — continues, because if Monday’s matchup doesn’t live up to the hype surrounding it and all the various skill-position players involved from a fantasy and betting perspective, it’s going to be a pretty massive disappointment.
Vegas certainly sees the Lions and Ravens putting on a show, having given this the highest total of the week (53.5) and of the young season thus far.
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Hopefully you listened to the weekend betting guide and sprinkled on an underdog round robin, because plenty of those teams came through, which should leave you with some funds to toss around on this game. (Responsibly, of course.) And there’s plenty to toss around on, so let’s dive right into the game and our favorite bets.
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Best bets for Monday Night Football
Ravens -4.5 vs. Lions
This is a really tough game from a side or total perspective. You can definitely have an opinion, but the teams involved make it kind of difficult to be hard and fast with how you approach this game. Detroit flashed the firepower of previous years against Chicago in Week 2 after a rough start in Week 1 that left many people questioning the Lions’ offense. Conversely, the Lions are coming off a home opener and maybe a bit of a hangover game, and I can’t imagine anywhere worse to wake up with a headache than Baltimore against Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry for their first home primetime game of the season. Lamar has never thrown an interception on Monday Night Football (against 22 passing touchdowns), and the Ravens love to show up in these big spots.
I can’t see Detroit blowing out Baltimore on the road, but I can see a situation where the Ravens get a lead and lean on Derrick Henry. Don’t be scared of that cash-out button, though, because the Ravens have also shown a propensity to leave the backdoor open for competent teams in recent years. I just don’t think that’s the case tonight and expect a heavy dose of the King when Baltimore gets a lead. Even in a 30-point loss, the Bears still managed to run for five yards a carry against the Lions, and the Ravens are the best rushing team in football. Baltimore’s ability to turn into a boa constrictor with the clock and run game is what’s keeping me off the Over here.
Monday Night Football player props
Amon-Ra St. Brown Over 6.5 receptions
Coming off a monster week, I don’t mind going back to the well for a big St. Brown game. The total is insanely high, so Jared Goff is going to get the pass attempts. St. Brown eats when the Lions are trailing (although he surprisingly didn’t get to this number in Week 1) and showed last week that he’s Goff’s go-to receiver regardless of the situation. I think he’s probably safe from the game script too: the Lions lost to the Ravens in Baltimore 38-6 back in 2023, and ARSB had 13 (!) receptions in that game. If the Ravens are getting any pressure on Goff, he’ll look for his underneath man on Monday night.
Lamar Jackson Under 7.5 rush attempts
It’s always scary to get in front of anything Lamar Jackson-related on an Under, but I’m OK with this one, since there are multiple outs here. One, the Ravens blow out the Lions, win big at home and are running the ball most of the second half. Two, these teams get in a shootout, and Lamar is winning from the pocket the whole game. We’ve heard “Lamar plans to win with his arm” chatter in the pregame shows a lot this year, and I think the Ravens will prevent him from running too much, especially early in the season. He went wild against Buffalo in Week 1, rushing for 70 yards and a score … and still did it on just six attempts. In an easy win over Cleveland in Week 2, Lamar ran just twice. So even if he’s putting up eye-popping numbers, the attempts could easily not get there. Obviously kneels at the end of the game could produce a dagger here, so just be cognizant of the number that you get.
Anytime touchdown picks
Jahmyr Gibbs -125
There’s nothing super sexy about this number whatsoever, but I kind of think this is a pretty good price for Gibbs? You have to lay some juice, but you know he’s going to get peppered with targets, you know the Lions are going to score some and a negative game script probably puts the ball in his hands even down by the goal line. He’s capable of popping off a big run or a big catch at any given moment … there’s a reason why you have to pay the juice for a guy who led the NFL in rushing touchdowns. David Montgomery will still probably get the majority of the goal-line action, but Gibbs will see plenty of red-zone action and is probably due to catch a pass and walk into the end zone.
Devontez Walker +1100