MONday night football

Lions (13-2) at 49ers (6-9)

When: 8:15 p.m. EST Monday

TV: ESPN/ABC

BetMGM NFL odds: Lions by 3 1/2

Series record: 49ers lead 40-28-1.

Last meeting: 49ers beat Lions 34-31 in NFC title game in Santa Clara, Calif., on Jan. 28, 2024.

Last week: Lions beat the Bears 44-42; 49ers lost to the Dolphins 29-17.

Lions player to watch: RB Jahmyr Gibbs. He had 154 yards of offense last week, carrying a heavier load with David Montgomery out with a knee injury. Gibbs has 70 yards from scrimmage in every game, the first NFL player to do that in the first 15 games of a season since David Johnson in 2016.

49ers player to watch: WR Deebo Samuel had a throwback game last week when he had seven catches for 96 yards and his first TD since Week 6 and also added 25 yards rushing for a season-high 121 yards from scrimmage. Samuel had been held to 116 yards from scrimmage the previous five games and might need more performances such as last week to show the Niners he’s worth bringing back next season.

Key matchup: Lions downfield passing vs. 49ers secondary. Detroit is tied for the NFL lead with 57 passes that have gained at least 20 yards as the Lions offense relies heavily on big plays. San Francisco has done a good job of limiting those, allowing a league-low 31 big pass plays.

Series notes: The Lions blew a 17-point lead and lost the NFC title game against the 49ers last season. ... San Francisco has won 12 of the past 13 meetings with the only loss coming in 2015. ... Detroit hasn’t won a road game in the series since Sept. 25, 1995, at Candlestick Park. ... Goff has lost his past five starts against San Francisco with seven TD passes and five INTs in those games.

— Associated Press

panthers (4-11) at buccaneers (8-7)

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

TV: Fox

BetMGM Odds: Buccaneers by 8

Series record: Panthers lead 25-23.

Last meeting: Buccaneers beat Panthers 26-23 in OT on Dec. 1, 2024, in Carolina.

Last week: Panthers beat Cardinals 36-30 in OT; Buccaneers lost to Cowboys 26-24.

Key matchup: Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving vs. Panthers defense. The previous time these two teams met four weeks ago, Irving ran for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries as the Bucs racked up 239 yards on the ground on 39 carries. That has been the norm for the Panthers. In the past seven games, the Panthers have allowed nearly 200 yards rushing per game and rank last in the league in run defense. Irving ran for 68 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys last week.

Series notes: The Bucs have won eight of the past nine against the Panthers, including four straight. Mayfield is 3-0 vs. Carolina since being released by the Panthers and 4-0 against them all time.

Stats & stuff: The Panthers are 1-5 on the road under first-year head coach Dave Canales. ... QB Bryce Young ran for a career-high 68 yards rushing against the Cardinals, including a career-long run of 34 yards. ... Hubbard ranks sixth in the NFL in yards rushing coming into Week 17 and is also tied for sixth in rushing first downs (62) and tied for ninth in rushes of 10-plus yards (26). ... With his 11-yard reception in the second quarter against Dallas in Week 15, WR Adam Thielen surpassed 8,000 receiving yards. He became just the fourth undrafted player since 1967 with 8,000 yards receiving, joining Antonio Gates, Rod Smith and Wes Welker. ... The Buccaneers are 8-2 in December/January regular-season games going back to 2023. They’re 20-6 in such games since 2020. ... Irving leads all NFL rookies in rushing (920 yards) and rushing TDs (seven). He’s also first with 1,240 total yards from scrimmage. ... The Bucs are seventh in the league in rushing after finishing last each of the past two seasons. They’ve topped 100 yards in 12 of 15 games after doing so just nine times the previous two years combined. ... While poor tackling was a factor in last week’s loss at Dallas, the Bucs defense has made strides the past month. Since the team’s Week 11 bye, Tampa Bay has only allowed 284.2 yards and 17.2 points per game.

Fantasy tip: Buccaneers WR Mike Evans is closing in on his 11th consecutive season with 1,000-plus receiving yards. He’s had some of the biggest games of his career against the Panthers. In 20 games vs. Carolina, Evans has 110 receptions for 1,598 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had eight catches for 118 yards and a TD in the first meeting this season.

Titans (3-12) at Jaguars (3-12)

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

TV: CBS

BetMGM NFL odds: Jaguars by 1.

Series record: Titans lead 35-25.

Last meeting: Jaguars beat the Titans 10-6 in Nashville on Dec. 8.

Last week: Titans lost 38-30 at Indianapolis; Jaguars lost 19-14 at Las Vegas.

Key matchup: The Titans know Jacksonville will try to run on them early and often after they gave up 335 yards rushing last week to the Colts. It’s the most in an NFL game this season and the most for the former AFL franchise since 1961. Tennessee held the Jaguars to 26 yards rushing in their previous meeting.

Series notes: This is the second game between these teams in a four-week span. The Jaguars are trying to sweep the season series for the second time in three seasons. They also have won four of the past five between these teams. The Titans won the 2023 regular-season finale in coach Mike Vrabel’s last game before he was fired two days later.

Stats & stuff: The Titans can finish with a .500 record inside the AFC South if they win their final two games. ... The Titans have scored TDs on seven straight trips inside the opponent’s 20 over the past two games. ... The Titans have had at least one interception in five straight games. S Amani Hooker set a career high with his fifth of the season last week, which leads Tennessee. ... The Jaguars are 2-9 in one-score games. ... Thomas is the first rookie in franchise history and the 25th in league history to top 1,000 yards receiving. He needs seven receptions to become the seventh player in team history with at least 80 catches in a season.

cowboys (7-8) at eagles (12-3)

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

TV: Fox

BetMGM NFL odds: Eagles by 7 1/2

Series record: Cowboys lead 74-58.

Last meeting: Jalen Hurts threw two touchdowns and ran for two more in the Eagles’ 34-6 rout of the Cowboys at Dallas on Nov. 10.

Last week: Cowboys defeated the Buccaneers 26-24; Eagles lost 36-33 at Washington.

Key matchup: Dallas’s rushing defense vs. Saquon Barkley. Can anyone stop him? The Cowboys will be the latest to try to corral Barkley, who has 1,838 rushing yards and 2,114 scrimmage yards, both of which lead the NFL. Dallas ranks 28th in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing an average of 135.9 yards a game. Philadelphia, behind Barkley’s stellar play, tops the league at 187.9 yards a game on the ground.

Series notes: The Cowboys made the playoffs in each of the previous three seasons, but were eliminated prior to their game against Tampa Bay last week when the Commanders came back from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Philadelphia. … Dallas is 5-2 on the road. ... The Eagles can clinch the NFC East and one of the conference’s top two seeds with a victory.

Stats & stuff: LB Micah Parsons needs half a sack to reach double digits in sacks for the fourth straight season to begin his career and would become just the fifth player to accomplish the feat in NFL history. … K Brandon Aubrey made a 53-yard and two 58-yard field goals against the Buccaneers, upping his league-leading total to 14 made of 50-plus yards. ... The Eagles already set a team record for rushing yards in a season with 2,818, and they are within four rushing touchdowns of tying the club’s best single-season mark of 32, set in 2022.

dolphins (7-8) at Browns (3-12)

When: 4:05 p.m. Sunday,

TV: CBS

BetMGM NFL odds: Dolphins by 6 1/2

Series record: Dolphins lead 10-9.

Last meeting: Dolphins beat Browns 39-17 on Nov. 13, 2022, at Miami Gardens, Florida.

Last week: Dolphins beat San Francisco 29-17; Browns lost to Bengals 24-6.

Key matchup: Dolphins RB De’Von Achane vs. Browns linebackers. Achane’s versatility as a runner (761 yards) and pass catcher (76 receptions, 579 yards) makes him difficult to stop and gives Miami another playmaker to stress defenses, especially on the perimeter. One missed tackle could be the difference in a short gain or a long touchdown.

Series notes: Miami has won three of the past four meetings after losing four in a row. ... The Browns are 7-5 at home against the Dolphins, beating them 41-24 in their previous meeting at Huntington Bank Field in 2019. ... The Dolphins won six straight against the Browns from 1988 to 2004.

Stats & stuff: The Dolphins (7-8) are on the bubble for a wild-card spot along with Indianapolis (7-8) and Cincinnati (7-8). Even if the Dolphins win their remaining two games, they’ll need help from other teams to get in. In one scenario, Miami would make the playoffs with two wins and two losses each by Denver (9-6) and the Los Angeles Chargers (9-6). ... Browns QB Jameis Winston, who was benched because of interceptions, was the No. 3 QB last week because of a sore right shoulder. ... RB Jerome Ford ripped off a 66-yard run on the game’s first play last week and finished with 131 total yards.

Packers (11-4) at vikings (13-2)

When: 4:25 p.m. Sunday

TV: Fox

BetMGM NFL odds: Packers by 1

Series record: Packers lead 66-59-3.

Last meeting: Vikings beat Packers 31-29 on Sept. 29, 2024, in Green Bay.

Last week: Packers beat Saints 34-0, Vikings beat Seahawks 27-24.

Key matchup: Vikings RB Aaron Jones, who will face his former team for the second time, has 440 total yards and four TDs from scrimmage over the past five games. Though the 30-year-old is averaging a career-low 4.5 yards per rush, he topped the 1,000-yard mark last week for the fourth time in eight seasons. Jones has 233 carries, three short of his career high. He had 139 total yards from scrimmage against the Packers in Week 4, his second-highest total of the season.

Series notes: This marks the first time in the 64-year history of the rivalry that both the Packers and Vikings have had 11 or more wins going into the game. … The all-time series in Minnesota is tied at 31-all. … The road team has won the past three games in this matchup. ... The Vikings have won five of the past eight meetings overall and five of the eight matchups at U.S. Bank Stadium since it opened in 2016.

Stats & stuff: The Packers have won nine of their past 11 games to clinch a playoff spot. They’ve been eliminated from NFC North title contention. … The Packers have 2,209 rushing yards this season, which represents their highest total since 2003, when they had 2,558. … The Vikings have won eight straight games and are tied with Detroit for the NFC North lead and control of the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. If they lose to the Packers, the Lions clinch the division.