With Christmas Eve falling on a Monday, the NFL decided to schedule ESPN’s final game of the 2012 season on a Saturday night which is tonight.
It’s like the old days when ESPN had the Sunday night package and used to air a Saturday night game in the final weeks of the NFL season. But back in the 1990’s, ESPN would air a Saturday night and a Sunday night game back-to-back and have its crew of Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire call both games.
Tonight, the Monday Night Football crew of Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will call the game. Lisa Salters will roam the sidelines for ESPN.
Monday Night Countdown airs at 7 p.m. ET with the game starting after 8:30 p.m.
Here’s the ESPN preview.
MNF Season Finale on Saturday: Matt Ryan and the Falcons Face Matthew Stafford and the Lions
In a special Saturday night edition of ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons – tied for the best record in the NFL (12-2) – will face Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions on December 22 at 8:30 p.m. ET in the prime-time series’ season finale.
The Falcons hope to secure home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs, while Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson continues his quest to set the record for most receiving yards in a single season. To break the 17-year old record set by ESPN analyst Jerry Rice, Johnson needs 182 receiving yards in his next two games.
Mike Tiricowill call the game with analyst Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters. Airing on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, MNF will also be available on computers at WatchESPN.com and on tablets via the WatchESPN app for fans who receive their video subscriptions from an affiliated provider.
The 90-minute Saturday edition of Monday Night Countdown begins at 7 p.m. with host Chris Berman and analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson and Keyshawn Johnson and NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. The pre-game show will also include reports from Steve Young and Salters at Ford Field. Highlights:
- Soundtracks – Falcons Season: ith a win Saturday night in Detroit, the Falcons will lock up home field advantage for the NFC playoffs. In this week’s Soundtracks, Countdown presents some of the season’s best Falcons in-game and sideline audio.
- Jerry Rice on Calvin Johnson’s Pursuit of Receiving Record: With 1,667 receiving yards in 14 games, Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is 181 yards removed from breaking Jerry Rice’s single-season receiving mark. As Johnson approaches his record, Rice reflects on the record and what makes Johnson such a dominant receiver.
- Best of “C’Mon Man!”: A review of the season’s best C’Mon Man! plays, ranging from the replacement referees faux pas to wardrobe malfunctions.
ESPN NFL studio programming continues throughout the holiday weekend into Christmas Day.
Date Time (ET) Show Network(s) Saturday, December 22 7 p.m. Monday Night Countdown ESPN 8:30 p.m. Monday Night Football:
Atlanta Falcons at Detroit LionsESPN, ESPN Deportes, Watch ESPN Sunday, December 23 3 a.m. NFL Matchup ESPN 6:30 a.m. NFL Matchup (re-air) ESPN 8:30 a.m. NFL Matchup (re-air) ESPN2 10 a.m. Sunday NFL Countdown ESPN 11 a.m. Fantasy Football Now ESPN2 7:30 p.m. SportsCenter*
Highlights of Sunday’s NFL gamesESPN Monday, December 24 3 p.m. NFL Primetime ESPN 4 p.m. NFL Live ESPN 5 p.m. NFL32 ESPN2 7 p.m. NFL Live (re-air) ESPN2 Tuesday, December 25 12:30 a.m. NFL Primetime (re-air) ESPN 1:30 a.m. NFL Films Presents ESPN2 3 p.m. NFL Primetime (re-air) ESPN 3:30 p.m. 2012 Pop Warner Championship ESPN2 4 p.m. NFL Live ESPN 4:30 p.m. Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers at Cardinals (re-air) ESPN2 6 p.m. NFL Live (re-air) ESPN2
There you have it.
