ESPN is back with its 10th anniversary of airing Monday Night Football. Since it began carrying MNF on cable, ESPN has aired a Week 1 doubleheader which takes us into a 17-game schedule.
The Week 1 doubleheader has Pittsburgh at Washington as the early game and then the Los Angeles Rams taking on the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Week 3 will be the 10th anniversary of the return of the Saints to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the Steve Gleason game where he blocked an Atlanta Falcons punt in the Superdome. And once again, it’ll be the Falcons taking on the Saints in the Superdome.
ESPN heads to Mexico City and the fabled Estadio Azteca as the Houston Texans take on the Oakland Raiders. It marks the first regular season game in Mexico City since 2005 when ESPN aired a Sunday Night Football between San Francisco and Arizona.
Here’s the schedule including some game synopses from ESPN:
ESPN’s 2016 Monday Night Football Schedule
Steelers vs. Redskins and Rams vs. 49ers in Season-Opening Doubleheader on Sept. 12MNF Highlights:
- Appearances by both Super Bowl teams – Denver Broncos vs. Texans (Oct. 24); and Carolina Panthers (twice) – vs. Buccaneers (Oct. 10), at Redskins (Dec. 19).
- Eight teams have two appearances each – Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington.
- Superdome Anniversary (Sept. 26) – Falcons vs. Saints on MNF reopened the Louisiana Superdome in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina. The same teams meet again at the Dome for the event’s 10-year anniversary.
- “Brock Bowl” (Oct. 24) – The Texans-Broncos game marks the return of Brock Osweiler to Denver. The back-up quarterback for last year’s Super Bowl champions signed as a free agent with Houston this offseason.
- MNF rivalry renewed on Halloween (Oct. 31) – The Vikings-Bears game in Chicago on Halloween night is the 13th MNF meeting between the NFC North rivals, tied for the third most-played matchup in the history of the series.
- Monday Night in Mexico City (Nov. 21) – J.J. Watt and the Texans play Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders in the first NFL International Series game in Mexico City in 11 years.
The 47th season of Monday Night Football will kick off on ESPN with a doubleheader Monday, September 12 – Pittsburgh at Washington (7 p.m. ET) and Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers (10:15 p.m. / 7:15 p.m. PT). ESPN’s 17-game prime time schedule in 2016 will feature 11 of 12 playoff teams from 2015, including both the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos and NFC champion Carolina Panthers.
The opener features a matchup of 2015 playoff teams – Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers against Kirk Cousins and the defending NFC East champion Redskins. It is the third time in 11 years that ESPN’s MNF is opening the season in the Nation’s Capital (2006 vs. Minnesota; 2013 vs. Philadelphia).
The late game will reignite a popular West Coast rivalry as running back Todd Gurley and the Los Angeles Rams make their regular season debut on the road against the San Francisco 49ers under new head coach Chip Kelly. The Rams, who relocated to LA this offseason, last called Southern California home in 1994.
ESPN’s MNF crew features play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico, analyst Jon Gruden and reporter Lisa Salters. MNF games start each week at 8:15 p.m. (kickoff at 8:30 p.m.). Additional MNF “game around the game” content will be available throughout the day across ESPN platforms, including the Monday Night Countdown pregame (6 p.m.) and post-game SportsCenter.
ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s 24-hour Spanish-language domestic sports network, will once again offer a Spanish-language production of MNF games in 2016. All games will also be available to stream live on tablets, computers and connected devices via WatchESPN and the ESPN app. WatchESPN is accessible in more than 93 million households nationwide to fans who receive ESPN’s networks as part of their video subscription.
The week-by-week 2016 MNF schedule:
September: Big Ben and Steelers in D.C., LA Rams debut, and back in “The Big Easy”
- Sept. 12: Season-opening doubleheader – Steelers at Redskins and Rams at 49ers.
- Sept. 19: Sam Bradford and the Philadelphia Eagles face Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears in a battle of tradition-rich NFC teams.
- Sept. 26: A day after the 10-year anniversary of the Falcons vs. Saints MNF game that re-opened the Louisiana Superdome following Hurricane Katrina, the NFC South rivals will meet again at the Dome on ESPN. Quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Drew Brees will take center stage.
October: MNF returns to Minny, Jameis vs. Cam, “Brock Bowl” and Halloween night in Chicago
- Oct. 3: In the first MNF game at U.S. Bank Stadium – and the first Monday night in Minneapolis since 2010, Eli Manning and the Giants play Adrian Peterson and the NFC North champion Vikings.
- Oct. 10: A key NFC South game features former No. 1 draft picks Jameis Winston of the Buccaneers and NFL MVP Cam Newton of the NFC champion Carolina Panthers.
- Oct. 17: Head coach Todd Bowles brings his New York Jets squad to the desert to face Carson Palmer and the NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals, the team Bowles previously worked for as defensive coordinator.
- Oct. 24: In the “Brock Bowl,” Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler returns to Denver to face his former team, led by Super Bowl MVP Von Miller. The Broncos’ appearance marks their 25th consecutive season with at least one Monday night game (1992-present), the longest current streak in the NFL.
- Oct. 31: MNF returns to the Windy City on Halloween night as Peterson and the Vikings play Cutler and the Bears. The 13th meeting between the NFC North rivals ties Dolphins-Jets as the third most-played MNF matchup, behind only Redskins-Cowboys and Raiders-Broncos (17 games each).
November: Bills battle Legion of Boom, Dalton vs. Eli, MNF in Mexico, and Rodgers leads Packers into Philly
- Nov. 7: LeSean McCoy and the Buffalo Bills travel to the Pacific Northwest to play Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks, who have won 10 straight MNF games.
- Nov. 14: In a matchup of top quarterback-receiver duos, Andy Dalton, A.J. Green and the AFC North champion Bengals try to out-duel Manning and Odell Beckham, Jr.
- Nov. 21: The Texans play the Raiders in the first NFL International Series game in Mexico City in 11 years. In 2005, 49ers-Cardinals at Estadio Azteca (on ESPN’s Sunday Night Football) attracted 103,467 fans, the eighth largest crowd in NFL history. Release.
- Nov. 28: Bradford and the Eagles host Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to conclude Thanksgiving weekend.
December: Luck, Brady, Newton and Romo, and Lions-Cowboys in MNF finale =
- Dec. 5: Darrelle Revis and the New York Jets try to tackle Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts for the second straight year on MNF. The Jets won their 2015 meeting 20-7.
- Dec. 12: Two teams with a long history and some bad blood reunite when Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens face Tom Brady and the AFC East champion Patriots in Foxboro.
- Dec. 19: Newton and Carolina vs. Cousins and Washington in a matchup of teams hoping to get back to the NFC playoffs.
- Dec. 26: The day after Christmas, ESPN’s MNF finale will be played at AT&T Stadium as Matt Stafford, who grew up in the Dallas area, leads the Lions against Tony Romo and the Cowboys.
ESPN’s 2016 Monday Night Football Schedule
Preseason Date Time (ET) Teams Sun, Aug. 7 8 p.m. Indianapolis Colts vs. Green Bay Packers (Canton, Ohio) Sat, Aug. 13 8 p.m. Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams Regular Season Sept. 12 7 p.m. Pittsburgh Steelers at Washington 10:15 p.m. Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers Sept. 19 8:15 p.m. Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears Sept. 26 8:15 p.m. Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints Oct. 3 8:15 p.m. New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings Oct. 10 8:15 p.m. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers Oct. 17 8:15 p.m. New York Jets at Arizona Cardinals Oct. 24 8:15 p.m. Houston Texans at Denver Broncos Oct. 31 8:15 p.m. Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears Nov. 7 8:15 p.m. Buffalo Bills at Seattle Seahawks Nov. 14 8:15 p.m. Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants Nov. 21 8:15 p.m. Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders (Mexico City) Nov. 28 8:15 p.m. Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles Dec. 5 8:15 p.m. Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets Dec. 12 8:15 p.m. Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots Dec. 19 8:15 p.m. Carolina Panthers at Washington Dec. 26 8:15 p.m. Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys
And that wraps up this post.
