For obvious reasons, the NFL will not schedule an annually downtrodden franchise to play on Monday Night Football in the national spotlight. The Detroit Lions (5-2) certainly used to qualify as such a team as they haven't won a division title since 1993 and are the only NFC club yet to play in a Super Bowl. However, Dan Campbell has turned the Lions around. They're running away with the NFC North Division and will host a Monday night game for the first time since 2018 with the Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) visiting Motown as 7.5-point underdogs on the SportsLine consensus. 

Detroit might have wrapped up the division title on Sunday without even playing. Minnesota beat Green Bay to improve to 4-4 and take second place in the North behind the Lions, but the Vikings also reportedly lost starting quarterback Kirk Cousins to a season-ending Achilles injury. Minnesota was the only realistic threat in the division but likely isn't now with either journeyman Nick Mullens or fifth-round rookie Jaren Hall taking over under center. 

I wasn't aware that NFL teams celebrate Homecoming, but the Lions will be doing so Monday. Former offensive tackle Lomas Brown will be on hand to be inducted into the team's Pride of the Lions during a special halftime show. He will join 19 other all-time franchise greats in the permanent display at Ford Field, which was first unveiled in 2009.

Las Vegas won its first road game of the season in Denver but has dropped the past three away, although starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo wasn't available for two of those losses. Garoppolo is expected to play Monday. The Raiders sit 13th in the AFC and are looking at another missed postseason under embattled head coach Josh McDaniels. At least Las Vegas residents have the WNBA champion Aces!. 

We'll take you through every aspect of the Raiders-Lions Monday night game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.

Who wins Raiders vs. Lions in the Week 8 Monday Night Football game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know about the game in the eight Monday night matchup of the 2023 season!