Lions vs. Ravens Monday Night Football Week 3 Betting Predictions

There are a few ways I considered betting this game before settling on the Baltimore Ravens spread. I considered the game total, Baltimore’s team total, and Baltimore's team touchdowns. Ultimately, I decided to stick with the spread.

The key here is that I trust Baltimore’s offense to put points on the board. It’s only been two weeks, but the Ravens are averaging 0.786 points per play this season. This is drastically higher than anyone else in the NFL, and it’s 0.284 more points per play than any team averaged last season.

This isn’t a sustainable number, and it will decrease throughout the season. Baltimore gets a plus matchup against the Detroit Lions this week, though. They rank 24th in the NFL in points allowed per play (0.432) thus far. The Lions struggled against a potent Green Bay Packers offense before finding more success against the Chicago Bears last week.

The issue with Detroit’s defense is that they haven’t been able to get pressure on their opponents. They’re blitzing at a relatively average rate (23.8%), but they rank sixth-last in pressure rate (14.3%).

Lamar Jackson can beat any defense, but he’s at his best when he’s in a clean pocket. He’s averaging 9.5 yards per attempt with 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions when he isn’t pressured this season. He also averaged 9.8 yards per attempt with 29 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in that situation last season.

Ultimately, I don’t believe this Detroit defense is going to be able to slow down Baltimore’s offense. That’s why I considered both their total points and total touchdowns, but both bets are inflated a bit at this point.

Instead, I’m going to back the team overall. The Lions dominated the Bears last week, but I’m not entirely sure that’s going to be a consistent theme. They couldn’t find any success against the Packers in Week 1, but Green Bay clearly features one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Overall, I do expect Detroit to find solid offensive success throughout the season, but I also expect them to drop off from last season. They were a better offense at home in 2024, and that should be the case again this season.

The Ravens are dealing with a couple of key injuries to their defense, but they still have more than enough firepower to find success. This should be a spot where Detroit is looking to keep up with the Baltimore offense, and that isn’t likely to happen. The spread is allowing us to lean on Baltimore’s defense if their offense has struggles at any point in this game, though.

Where to Bet: Baltimore Ravens -4.5 spread | +100 at ESPN Bet

2025 NFL Season Betting Record: 4-5