Before the season, this Monday night game between the Lions and the 49ers was expected to be one of the showcase games of the entire NFL calendar. Things have changed due in large part to an injury-cursed 49er team.

The Lions and 49ers kick off tonight at 5:15 p.m. PT (8:15 p.m. ET) on ABC, ESPN and ESPN Plus. Looking for the ManningCast? The Manning brothers have the night off; Peyton and Eli won't return until next month for a Wild Card game.

So, it’s come to this: no matter what the Detroit Lions do on Monday night in Week 17 against the San Francisco 49ers, they’ll be playing for the NFC North title against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night later this week, per the NFL schedule for Week 18. That also means the winner gets the No. 1 seed and an all-important bye week.