In the Week 3 Monday Night Football matchup in the 2025 NFL season, the Baltimore Ravens host the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. We’ll be diving into all of the primetime games this season, and this one isn’t any different. With that in mind, keep reading for betting odds, picks and player props for this exciting showdown. Also, make sure you head over to our Week 3 NFL Betting Hub for a look at all of our NFL betting content.
MORE: Head to the Pro Picks page for best bets from all of our VSiN hosts and analysts!
How To Watch Lions vs. Ravens
When: Monday, September 22nd at 8:15 pm ET
Where: M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland
Channel: ESPN
Lions vs. Ravens Odds
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Sunday, September 21st. Look around for the best prices!
Moneyline: Ravens -225, Lions +185
Spread: Ravens -4.5 (-108), Lions +4.5 (-112)
Total: Over 53.5 (-110), Under 53.5 (-110)
Lions vs. Ravens Analysis
You’ve heard it all week: Lamar Jackson is 7-2 as a starter in Monday Night Football games, and he’s 24-2 when facing teams from the NFC. The Ravens are also wearing all-black uniforms for this one, and it feels like they’re 1,000-0 when playing in those. Our VSiN betting splits pages also happen to show some positive stuff for Baltimore. It wasn’t long ago that the Ravens were -3.5, but they’ve been pushed out to -4.5.
In looking at this matchup, I was originally drawn to Jackson getting to go to work against a Detroit secondary that is 20th in the NFL in Dropback EPA per play allowed (0.158). It’s also a Lions group that I’m generally a bit down on after a second-half collapse last season. Baltimore was also first in the NFL in explosive plays heading into Week 3, so any sort of Detroit break downs in the secondary will be costly.
To add to that, Jared Goff still has a pedestrian record when playing outdoors, and we still have no idea what he’s going to look like without Ben Johnson. Sure, he went scorched earth against the Bears last week, throwing for 334 yards with five touchdowns and no picks. But that was the Bears. In Week 1, Goff threw for only 225 yards with a touchdown and a pick, and he couldn’t find anything throwing beyond the sticks. I can’t say that I expect that this week, as the Ravens defense doesn’t look as good as the Packers defense. But Baltimore should clear the bar of looking better than Chicago did.
Despite all of that, it’s hard to suggest a play on the Ravens. For as good as Baltimore has been under John Harbaugh, the team is just 47-54-1 against the spread when playing as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points with him on the sidelines. The Ravens are also just 61-64-2 ATS as home favorites in that span.
Also, some of the systems and trends supporting the Lions are out of control. One of the systems has an ROI of 35.0% since 2021, and it’s that underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points that completed at least 64.0% of their passes last season are 41-17 against the spread in Weeks 1 to 3. On top of that, Detroit is 15-4 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points under Dan Campbell. The team is also 7-0 ATS when playing away from home after a game in which it rushed for 175 or more yards with Campbell on the sidelines. If you drop that to 150 or more and take the location out of the equation, the Lions are 9-0 ATS in their next game.
I’d just sit out with the side in this one. It’s a little too early in the year to know whether or not this Detroit team is similar to last year’s Detroit team. And last year’s squad would have been a bet-on group getting 4.5 in this spot.
If there’s a play to be made in this game, the Over looks like the best one. The Lions and Bears just played a game in which 73 points were scored. And the Ravens are averaging 40.5 points per game this year, and they’re 2-0 to the Over.
These teams were both Top 5 in EPA per play last year, and they’re both back in that range this year. The defenses for both teams also happen to be questionable.
If that’s not enough, the Over is 3-1 in the four Monday night games that Detroit has played under Campbell, and it’s also 4-1 when the Lions are coming off back-to-back division games in that span. The Over is also 13-8-1 in the Monday night games that the Ravens have played under Harbaugh.
Lions vs. Ravens Player Props
Lean: Rashod Bateman Over 35.5 Receiving Yards (-114)
We have a new tool that runs through some of the week’s best — and worst — WR-CB matchups (powered by Fantasy Points). Well, it looks like Bateman has the most favorable matchup of any of the wide receivers in this game, as he’s projected to see a lot of Terrion Arnold, the second-year pro that graded out at 50.8 at Pro Football Focus as a rookie and is only at 52.4 in Year 2.
Bateman only had two catches for 10 yards in Week 1, and he followed it up with 10 catches for 15 yards in Week 2. However, with this week expected to be a shootout, there could be some more room for him to operate. Bateman also had 36 receiving yards when he last saw this Detroit team, which was back in 2023.
Lions vs. Ravens Pick
While it’s hard to predict which one of these teams will cover the number, it’s easy to imagine this turning into a shootout. So far, nobody has been able to slow down the Baltimore offense this year. However, the Ravens defense remains questionable. That said, the Lions, even without Johnson calling plays, are loaded with talent and new offensive coordinator John Morton was in a nice groove calling the shots last week. Detroit should be able to do its part in a shootout.
Pick: Over 53 (-110)
