List of Monday Night Football results (1970–2005) explained

Beginning in the 1970 NFL season, the National Football League began scheduling a weekly regular season game on Monday night before a national television audience. From 1970 to 2005, the ABC television network carried these games, with the ESPN cable television network taking over beginning in September 2006. Listed below are games played from 1970 to 2005.

Overtime ResultNon-Monday regular season games covered by MNF teamSuper Bowl broadcastPro Bowl broadcast

Stadiums and teams appearing under different names

Some stadiums and teams had multiple names throughout their appearances in the MNF package in this era.

First name listed is the stadium/team's name heading into 1990. All names were seen in the package at least once in this era.

Stadiums

Teams

1970s

1970 NFL season

The first ever MNF game between the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns ended with a 31–21 Browns win. Key highlights include Browns' 2 1st-quarter touchdowns by Gary Collins and Bo Scott; Emerson Boozer of the Jets scoring 2 rushing touchdowns, each scored in 2nd & 3rd quarters; Homer Jones became the first player in MNF history to score a touchdown on a kickoff/punt return when he sprinted 94 yards to the end zone to begin the 2nd half, and Billy Andrews also became the 1st defensive player in MNF history when he score a touchdown on an intercepted pass from Joe Namath in the final closing minutes to seal the win.

In only the second MNF game on September 28, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson became the first quarterback to throw for 4 touchdown passes on Monday Night Football.

The October 19 game between the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders was originally scheduled as a head coaching matchup between Vince Lombardi of the Redskins and the Raiders' second-year mentor, John Madden. However, Lombardi died of colon cancer six weeks before the contest. In that game, Raiders running back Hewritt Dixon rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown. 13 years later, the Redskins and the Raiders (this time playing in Los Angeles) would meet in the Super Bowl, with the Raiders winning the game and the title 38–9.

The October 26 game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings was notable when for the 1st time in MNF history, a team (Rams) didn't score a touchdown in the entire game. The result was a 13–3 Vikings win. Also on that same day, the 1st fight between Muhammad Ali and Jerry Quarry ended on a 3rd-round technical knockout. This boxing match is significant because it marked the return of Ali to boxing since his suspension that would ultimately led to his confrontational match against Joe Frazier in the Fight of the Century. Howard Cosell (a noted boxing commentator himself) would provide updates on that fight. The Ali-Quarry fight would later be highlighted on ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Following their humiliating shutout in the November 16 game (which is also the 1st shutout in MNF history), the Cowboys would go on a seven-game winning streak, not losing until a deciding field goal in the final seconds of Super Bowl V against the Baltimore Colts. The St. Louis Cardinals, who completed a season sweep of the Cowboys at the Cotton Bowl would go 1–3–1 down the stretch to fall completely out of the playoffs and cost coach Charley Winner his job. As for the Cowboys, they would not be shutout for 15 years until the future Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears beat them 44–0.

The Colts and Packers simultaneously became the first teams to make their second appearances on MNF when they played each other. The Browns, Lions, and Rams were the only other teams to make two MNF appearances in 1970. The Browns became the first team in MNF history to win 2 games in 2 appearances, while the Rams became the first team to lose 2 games in 2 appearances. The only teams that did not appear on MNF in 1970 were the 49ers (who first appeared in 1971), the Saints and Patriots (who first appeared in 1972) and the Broncos and Bills (who first appeared in consecutive weeks in 1973).

The November 23 game became infamous when an intoxicated Howard Cosell slurred his way through the first half and vomited on Don Meredith's boots at halftime. Cosell left Franklin Field prior to the second half, leaving Meredith to finish the game with Keith Jackson.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 21New York Jets21–31Cleveland BrownsCleveland Municipal StadiumFirst MNF game
2September 28Kansas City Chiefs44–24Baltimore ColtsMemorial Stadium
3October 5Chicago Bears14–28Detroit LionsTiger StadiumBears–Lions rivalry
4October 12Green Bay Packers22–20San Diego ChargersSan Diego Stadium
5October 19Washington Redskins20–34Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County Coliseum
6October 26Los Angeles Rams3–13Minnesota VikingsMetropolitan StadiumRams–Vikings rivalry
1969 NFL Western Conf. playoff rematch
7November 2Cincinnati Bengals10–21Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumBengals–Steelers rivalry
8November 9Baltimore Colts13–10Green Bay PackersMilwaukee County Stadium
9November 16St. Louis Cardinals38–0Dallas CowboysCotton Bowl
10November 23New York Giants20–23Philadelphia EaglesFranklin FieldEagles–Giants rivalry
11November 30Miami Dolphins20–7Atlanta FalconsAtlanta Stadium
12December 7Cleveland Browns21–10Houston OilersAstrodome
13December 14Detroit Lions28–23Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1971 NFL season

The October 11 game was the final NFL contest played in the Cotton Bowl. The Dallas Cowboys moved into Texas Stadium for its next home game on October 24 versus the New England Patriots.

Wide receiver Dave Smith of the Pittsburgh Steelers became a part of Monday Night Football lore with an infamous mistake in the October 18 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Smith was en route to scoring on a 50-yard pass play when he raised the ball over his head before reaching the end zone. Smith lost control of the ball, thinking he had already scored, with the mistake resulting in a touchback for the Chiefs.

The November 1 game between the visiting Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers ended in a 14–14 tie at County Stadium in Milwaukee. The first tie in the history of the Monday Night Football series.

The December 13 game saw the triumphant return of George Allen to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where he coached the Los Angeles Rams for five seasons (1966–70). Allen's new team, the Washington Redskins, clinched its first playoff berth since 1945 with a 38–24 victory over the Rams, also handing the NFC West championship to the San Francisco 49ers. Ironically, the 49ers ousted the Redskins from the playoffs with a 24–20 victory 13 days later. In addition, one of the contestants for an NFL punt, pass and kick contest shown during the game would be future Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.

The October 25 game featured a moment of silence for Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes who died of a heart attack on the field at Tiger Stadium the previous day.

The 49ers made their MNF debut December 6 vs. Kansas City at home.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 20Minnesota Vikings16–13Detroit LionsTiger StadiumLions–Vikings rivalry
Frank Gifford's debut game
2September 27New York Jets10–17St. Louis CardinalsBusch Memorial Stadium
3October 4Oakland Raiders34–20Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
4October 11New York Giants13–20Dallas CowboysCotton BowlCowboys–Giants rivalry
5October 18Pittsburgh Steelers16–38Kansas City ChiefsMunicipal Stadium
6October 25Baltimore Colts3–10Minnesota VikingsMetropolitan Stadium
7November 1Detroit Lions14–14Green Bay PackersMilwaukee County StadiumLions–Packers rivalry
8November 8Los Angeles Rams17–24Baltimore ColtsMemorial Stadium
9November 15St. Louis Cardinals17–20San Diego ChargersSan Diego Stadium
10November 22Green Bay Packers21–28Atlanta FalconsAtlanta Stadium
11November 29Chicago Bears3–34Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
11December 6Kansas City Chiefs26–17San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park
13December 13Washington Redskins38–24Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1972 NFL season

The September 25 game marked the New Orleans Saints' debut on Monday Night Football. The Saints' opponents, the Kansas City Chiefs, returned to Tulane Stadium for the first time since their Super Bowl IV victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Chiefs coach Hank Stram later coached the Saints in 1976 and 1977, although the team moved to the Louisiana Superdome in 1975. Saints quarterback Archie Manning made his Monday Night debut as well; 23 years later, his son, Eli Manning, made his Monday Night debut for the New York Giants against the Saints in a game relocated from New Orleans to Giants Stadium after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina three weeks prior.

The Patriots were the other team to make its MNF debut in 1972, hosting the Colts November 6.

The October 9 game between the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers at the Astrodome is infamous for an awkward off-field incident. During the game, which the Raiders won in a 34–0 shutout, ABC cameras had panned out and showed several fans leaving. A cameraman caught one of the few to stay in the game, who showed his disgust with the Oilers' performance by raising his middle finger, prompting Don Meredith to quip, "We're number 1 in the nation." The game was the first in the series' three-year history to pit two former AFL clubs against each other. After this game, the Oilers went the rest of the season winless, ending with a 1–13 record and again with a 1–13 record in the next season.

The November 27 game saw the Miami Dolphins make their lone primetime appearance during their 17–0 season. The Dolphins had little trouble in dispatching the outclassed St. Louis Cardinals, one of nine games the Dolphins won that season against teams which won five or fewer games (the Cardinals finished 4–9–1 for the third time in four seasons, and did so again in 1973).

The December 11 game saw the New York Jets wide receiver Don Maynard set a new NFL record for pass receptions when he caught his 632nd reception, a record that stood until 1975 when Charley Taylor became the NFL all-time pass receptions record holder.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 18Washington Redskins24–21Minnesota VikingsMetropolitan Stadium
2September 25Kansas City Chiefs20–17New Orleans SaintsTulane Stadium
3October 2New York Giants27–12Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumEagles–Giants rivalry
4October 9Oakland Raiders34–0Houston OilersThe Astrodome
5October 16Green Bay Packers24–23Detroit LionsTiger StadiumLions–Packers rivalry
6October 23Minnesota Vikings10–13Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Vikings rivalry
7October 30Detroit Lions24–28Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
8November 6Baltimore Colts24–17New England PatriotsSchaefer StadiumColts–Patriots rivalry
9November 13Cleveland Browns21–17San Diego ChargersSan Diego Stadium
10November 20Atlanta Falcons13–24Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
11November 27St. Louis Cardinals10–31Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
12December 4Los Angeles Rams26–16San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Rams rivalry
13December 11New York Jets16–24Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County Coliseum

1973 NFL season

The Broncos and Bills were the last of the 26 teams of the merged NFL to make their first appearances on the program, but not against each other, rather, alone in consecutive weeks.

During what would be Don Meredith's final season of his first Monday Night stint, he was the center of three incidents in a three-week stand. In the Oakland-Denver game on October 22, Meredith famously quipped, "We're in the Mile High City, and so am I" (referring to his marijuana use at the time), followed by his drinking through the Buffalo–Kansas City game the following week. Finally, on November 5 during the Steelers-Redskins matchup, he referred to President Richard Nixon by the nickname of "Tricky Dick".

The October 8 game ended in dramatic fashion as Redskins safety Ken Houston stopped Cowboy running back Walt Garrison at the Washington one-yard-line as time expired to preserve a 14–7 Redskins victory.

The Minnesota Vikings entered the November 19 game in Atlanta with a spotless 9–0 record, but left with their first loss. The Falcons jumped out to a 17–7 halftime lead, then held on as the Vikings came up one yard short on fourth down at the Atlanta 39 with 55 seconds to play. The victory was the Falcons sixth in a row. The victory was sweet revenge for Falcons head coach Norm Van Brocklin, who was the Vikings' first head coach from 1961 to 1966, and quarterback Bob Lee, a Vikings backup from 1969 to 1972 (as well as punter from 1969 to 1971), and again in 1976 and '77.

The December 3 game between the Steelers and the Dolphins began with a 30–3 halftime lead for the Dolphins, highlighted by Dick Anderson's 4 interceptions, including two that resulted in touchdown scores. Pittsburgh added 3 touchdowns in the 2nd half. However, luck ran out in the closing minutes, as the Dolphins won the game 30–26, aided with a Bob Griese safety.

Only one home team lost out of the 13 games: Cleveland to Miami 17–9 on October 15 (the Raiders and Broncos played to a 23–23 tie in Denver a week later).

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 17New York Jets7–23Green Bay PackersMilwaukee County Stadium
2September 24New Orleans Saints3–40Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
3October 1Atlanta Falcons6–31Detroit LionsTiger Stadium
4October 8Dallas Cowboys7–14Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
1972 NFC Championship Game rematch
5October 15Miami Dolphins17–9Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium1972 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
6October 22Oakland Raiders23–23Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
7October 29Kansas City Chiefs14–23Buffalo BillsRich Stadium
8November 5Washington Redskins16–21Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium
9November 12Chicago Bears7–19Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead Stadium
10November 19Minnesota Vikings14–20Atlanta FalconsAtlanta Stadium
11November 26Green Bay Packers6–20San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Packers rivalry
12December 3Pittsburgh Steelers26–30Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl1972 AFC Championship Game rematch
13December 10New York Giants6–40Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1974 NFL season

The season-opening contest in Buffalo on September 16 marked the start of a three-year stint for Alex Karras as a color commentator for the show. Karras had replaced Fred Williamson, who had originally replaced Don Meredith, but was dismissed after a poorly received effort during a few preseason contests. The Raiders' loss was their first on Monday Night, and would be their last until 1986.

The October 14 game between the Lions and 49ers marked the final Monday Night Football game ever at Tiger Stadium.

Facing huge competition from the October 28 CBS broadcast of the wedding of Rhoda Morgenstern on Rhoda and NBC's November 18 broadcast of The Godfather, ratings for Monday Night Football took a hit for those two contests. On that October 28, Pittsburgh defeated Atlanta for the 14th consecutive home team victory on Monday Night and the 15th consecutive without a loss. The streak was snapped the following week when Los Angeles won at San Francisco, the fourth of 10 consecutive Rams victories at Candlestick Park.

The November 25 game at Tulane Stadium marked the first time ABC broadcast a Monday Night game in the same facility which would host the Super Bowl at the end of the season. Ironically, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New Orleans Saints in the MNF game, then came back January 12, 1975 and ousted the Minnesota Vikings on the same field to win their first championship in franchise history. In between, ABC telecast the final Sugar Bowl played at Tulane Stadium, with Nebraska edging Florida 13–10 on New Year's Eve.

After losing to the Steelers, the Saints did not return to MNF for five years.

From 1974 to 1977, the Monday night game aired on Saturday during the final week of the regular season. Previously, there had been no prime-time game in the season's final week.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 16Oakland Raiders20–21Buffalo BillsRich Stadium
2September 23Dallas Cowboys10–13Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumCowboys–Eagles rivalry
3September 30Denver Broncos3–30Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
4October 7New York Jets17–21Miami DolphinsOrange BowlDolphins–Jets rivalry
5October 14San Francisco 49ers13–17Detroit LionsTiger Stadium
6October 21Green Bay Packers9–10Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Packers rivalry
7October 28Atlanta Falcons17–24Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium
8November 4Los Angeles Rams15–13San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Rams rivalry
9November 11Minnesota Vikings28–24St. Louis CardinalsBusch Memorial Stadium
10November 18Kansas City Chiefs42–34Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Chiefs rivalry
11November 25Pittsburgh Steelers28–7New Orleans SaintsTulane Stadium
12December 2Cincinnati Bengals3–24Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl1973 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
13December 9Washington Redskins23–17Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
14December 14Dallas Cowboys23–27Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumSaturday game.
1975 Pro BowlJanuary 20NFC17–10AFCOrange Bowl

1975 NFL season

The Oakland Raiders' defeat of the Miami Dolphins on September 22 ended the Dolphins 31-game home winning streak. During this game, ABC switched at halftime to ABC News anchor Harry Reasoner for an update on the assassination attempt on President Ford by Sara Jane Moore earlier that day.

The October 6 game marked the first regular season game ever played in the Pontiac Silverdome, the then-new home of the Detroit Lions. The Dallas Cowboys, who had missed the playoffs in 1974 for the first time in nine years, beat the Lions on their way to a 4–0 start to the season. The Cowboys would return to the playoffs in 1975, starting a new nine-year streak of playoff berths, and became the first NFL wild card team ever to play in the Super Bowl.

Following their surprising 34–31 victory at Dallas Nov. 10, Kansas City did not win another MNF game until 1991. The Chiefs-Cowboys game is best remembered for a diving one-handed touchdown reception by the Cowboys' Golden Richards at the back of the end zone.

The final Monday Night Football game of the season offered one of the least attractive contests in the six-year history of the program: The 1–11 San Diego Chargers hosted the 3–9 New York Jets, with the Chargers pulling an upset 24–16 victory.

This was the first season that the Rams did not appear in one of the final two games of the season. The Rams played at home in the final Monday night game four of the first five seasons of Monday Night Football. Nevertheless, the Rams did play in the final game covered by the MNF team on Saturday, December 20, where they defeated the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 22Oakland Raiders31–21Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl1974 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
(The Sea of Hands)
2September 29Green Bay Packers13–23Denver BroncosMile High Stadium
3October 6Dallas Cowboys36–10Detroit LionsPontiac Silverdome
4October 13St. Louis Cardinals17–27Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
5October 20New York Giants17–14Buffalo BillsRich Stadium
6October 27Minnesota Vikings13–9Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Vikings rivalry
7November 3Los Angeles Rams42–3Philadelphia EaglesVeterans Stadium
8November 10Kansas City Chiefs34–31Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
9November 17Buffalo Bills24–33Cincinnati BengalsRiverfront Stadium
10November 24Pittsburgh Steelers32–9Houston OilersAstrodomeOilers–Steelers rivalry
11December 1New England Patriots7–20Miami DolphinsOrange BowlDolphins–Patriots rivalry
12December 8Denver Broncos10–17Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
13December 15New York Jets16–24San Diego ChargersSan Diego Stadium
14December 20Pittsburgh Steelers3–10Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial ColiseumLAR Win: No 1 Seed Loss With MIN
LAR Loss: No 2 Seed
Saturday game.
1976 Pro BowlJanuary 26AFC20–23NFCLouisiana Superdome

1976 NFL season

This season saw the first Monday night overtime game since overtime was instituted for the regular season in 1974, as the Redskins kicked a field goal in the extra period to beat the Eagles 20–17.

The October 11 game marked the first time the Rams had ever been shut out at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in their team history. The 49ers sacked Rams quarterback James Harris 10 times, six alone by defensive end Tommy Hart.

The October 18 game featured Alex Karras singing a fight song written for the New York Jets by then-head coach Lou Holtz before the kickoff (which was repeated for the NFL Top 10 series in the episode on "Coaches Who Belonged in College").

1976 also marked the program using a new theme song for the introduction.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 13Miami Dolphins30–21Buffalo BillsRich StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
2September 20Oakland Raiders24–21Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumChiefs–Raiders rivalry
3September 27Washington Redskins20–17Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumEagles–Redskins rivalry
4October 4Pittsburgh Steelers6–17Minnesota VikingsMetropolitan Stadium
5October 11San Francisco 49ers16–0Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum49ers–Rams rivalry
6October 18New York Jets7–41New England PatriotsSchaefer StadiumJets–Patriots rivalry
7October 25St. Louis Cardinals10–20Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
8November 1Houston Oilers14–38Baltimore ColtsMemorial Stadium
9November 8Los Angeles Rams12–20Cincinnati BengalsRiverfront Stadium
10November 15Buffalo Bills10–17Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
11November 22Baltimore Colts17–16Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
12November 29Minnesota Vikings16–20San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park
13December 6Cincinnati Bengals20–35Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County Coliseum
14December 11Los Angeles Rams20–17Detroit LionsPontiac SilverdomeSaturday game.
1977 Pro BowlJanuary 17NFC14–24AFCKingdome

1977 NFL season

The September 26 game was decided in overtime on Don Cockroft's 35-yard field goal with 10:15 left in the extra session.

This was Don Meredith's first season back in the booth, after three seasons at NBC. He would remain through the 1984 season.

The October 10 game was Joe Namath's last NFL start and last NFL game.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 19San Francisco 49ers0–27Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium
2September 26New England Patriots27–30Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
3October 3Oakland Raiders37–28Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumChiefs–Raiders rivalry
4October 10Los Angeles Rams23–24Chicago BearsSoldier Field
5October 17Cincinnati Bengals14–20Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumBengals–Steelers rivalry
6October 24Minnesota Vikings3–35Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum1976 NFC Championship Game rematch
7October 31New York Giants0–28St. Louis CardinalsBusch Memorial Stadium
8November 7Washington Redskins3–10Baltimore ColtsMemorial Stadium
9November 14St. Louis Cardinals24–17Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
10November 21Green Bay Packers9–10Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
11November 28Buffalo Bills13–34Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County Coliseum
12December 5Baltimore Colts6–17Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
13December 12Dallas Cowboys42–35San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Cowboys rivalry
14December 17Minnesota Vikings30–21Detroit LionsPontiac SilverdomeLions–Vikings rivalry
MIN Win: NFC Central Champions with CHI Loss, Saturday game.
1978 Pro BowlJanuary 23AFC13–14NFCTampa Stadium

1978 NFL season

The September 4 game, the 1978 MNF season opener, was when Howard Cosell and the announcing crew was given a plate of nachos and Cosell began using the term 'nacho' for the duration of the game; this moment is notable for helping spread the popularity of the dish outside of its native Texas where it was invented.[1]

The September 18 game between the Colts and the Patriots featured a Monday Night Football-record 41 points scored between the two teams in the fourth quarter, 27 by the Colts. Colts running back Joe Washington had a memorable performance, scoring or helping score his teams' final three touchdowns. His catch of a touchdown pass tied the game at 20–20, and then he threw an option pass to Roger Carr to put the Colts ahead 27–20. After the Patriots tied it late, Washington returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for the winning touchdown.

The November 20 game between the Dolphins and the Oilers featured a memorable performance by Oilers' rookie running back Earl Campbell. Campbell rushed for 199 yards and four touchdowns in a nip-and-tuck game that was capped off by his 81-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. It was the first MNF telecast from the Astrodome since the infamous 1972 game versus the Oakland Raiders where a fan gave the middle finger to a camera.

The November 27 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers kicked off at 6 pm. Pacific time, just hours after San Francisco mayor George Moscone and city supervisor Harvey Milk were murdered at City Hall by former supervisor Dan White. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, a former publicity director at the University of San Francisco, did not consider postponing the game. During the game, a large protest march to the steps of City Hall took place. A rarely discussed moment happened before the game just prior the national anthem. The stadium observed a moment of silence to honor the fallen mayor. Between that and the national anthem a truck backed into the stadium flag pole sending it crashing to the ground. It was a large wooden pole near the southern end zone. It shocked the crowd who were already uneasy from a very tragic day in San Francisco.

In the regular season finale December 18, New England Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks was not present, suspended by owner Billy Sullivan after he accepted the same position at the University of Colorado. Coordinators Ron Erhardt and Hank Bullough served as co-coaches for the game, which the Miami Dolphins won 23–3. Fairbanks was allowed to coach the Patriots in the AFC divisional playoff vs. Houston, which New England lost 31–14.

From 1978 to 1986, ABC would televise some Thursday and Sunday night games.

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 4Baltimore Colts0–38Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
2MondaySeptember 11Denver Broncos9–12Minnesota VikingsMetropolitan Stadium
3MondaySeptember 18Baltimore Colts34–27New England PatriotsSchaefer StadiumColts–Patriots rivalry
4SundaySeptember 24New England Patriots21–14Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County Coliseum
MondaySeptember 25Minnesota Vikings24–20Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Vikings rivalry
5MondayOctober 2Dallas Cowboys5–9Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
6MondayOctober 9Cincinnati Bengals0–21Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
7MondayOctober 16Chicago Bears7–16Denver BroncosMile High Stadium
8MondayOctober 23Houston Oilers24–17Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumOilers–Steelers rivalry
9ThursdayOctober 26Minnesota Vikings21–10Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium1977 NFC Championship Game rematch
MondayOctober 30Los Angeles Rams7–15Atlanta FalconsAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium
10MondayNovember 6Washington Redskins17–21Baltimore ColtsMemorial Stadium
11SundayNovember 12Pittsburgh Steelers7–10Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
MondayNovember 13Oakland Raiders34–21Cincinnati BengalsRiverfront Stadium
12MondayNovember 20Miami Dolphins30–35Houston OilersThe Astrodome
13MondayNovember 27Pittsburgh Steelers24–7San Francisco 49ersCandlestick ParkNight of the assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.
14SundayDecember 3Denver Broncos21–6Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
1977 AFC Championship Game rematch
MondayDecember 4Chicago Bears7–40San Diego ChargersSan Diego Stadium
15MondayDecember 11Cincinnati Bengals20–19Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
1979 Pro BowlSundayJanuary 29AFC7–13NFCLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum

1979 NFL season

The September 4 opening game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots was stopped for more than five minutes in the second quarter to acknowledge former Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley, who was seated in a luxury box at Schaefer Stadium. Stingley had suffered a career-ending injury 13 months earlier that had left him a quadriplegic.

The October 1 game at Lambeau Field marked the first time ever that a Monday Night Football game had taken place in Green Bay. The three previous Packers home games in the series had taken place in Milwaukee (1970, 1971, and 1973). Two weeks later, the Jets hosted the first ever MNF game in New York City, and defeated the Vikings.

The Seattle Seahawks made their MNF debut October 29 versus the Atlanta Falcons. Four weeks later, they played their first MNF home game versus the New York Jets.

In the November 12 game between the Eagles and the Cowboys, barefoot Eagles kicker Tony Franklin booted a 59-yard field goal. It was the longest MNF field goal until Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski hit an altitude-assisted 63-yarder at Denver in 2011, tying the league record as it then stood, and is still the Monday night non-altitude assisted record.

In the December 3 Raiders/Saints game, Ken Stabler rallied the Raiders from a 35–14 deficit. He threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Cliff Branch for the winning score. Stabler later played for the Saints from 1982 through the first half of 1984. The loss ended up costing the Saints their first winning season, as they finished 8-8; New Orleans would not finish above .500 until 1987.

WeekDayDate Visiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 3Pittsburgh Steelers16–13New England PatriotsSchaefer Stadium
2ThursdaySeptember 6Los Angeles Rams13–9Denver BroncosMile High Stadium
MondaySeptember 10Atlanta Falcons14–10Philadelphia EaglesVeterans Stadium1978 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
3MondaySeptember 17New York Giants0–27Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumGiants–Redskins rivalry
4MondaySeptember 24Dallas Cowboys7–26Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
5MondayOctober 1New England Patriots14–27Green Bay PackersLambeau Field
6MondayOctober 8Miami Dolphins3–13Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County Coliseum
7SundayOctober 14Los Angeles Rams6–30Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium1978 NFC Championship Game rematch
MondayOctober 15Minnesota Vikings7–17New York JetsShea Stadium
8MondayOctober 22Denver Broncos7–42Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium1978 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
9ThursdayOctober 25San Diego Chargers22–45Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumChargers–Raiders rivalry
MondayOctober 29Seattle Seahawks31–28Atlanta FalconsAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium
10MondayNovember 5Houston Oilers9–6Miami DolphinsMiami Orange Bowl1978 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
11MondayNovember 12Philadelphia Eagles31–21Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Eagles rivalry
12MondayNovember 19Atlanta Falcons14–20Los Angeles RamsLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
13MondayNovember 26New York Jets7–30Seattle SeahawksKingdome
14ThursdayNovember 29New England Patriots24–39Miami DolphinsOrange BowlDolphins–Patriots rivalry
MondayDecember 3Oakland Raiders42–35New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
15MondayDecember 10Pittsburgh Steelers17–20Houston OilersThe AstrodomeOilers–Steelers rivalry
1978 AFC Championship Game rematch
16MondayDecember 17Denver Broncos7–17San Diego ChargersSan Diego StadiumBroncos–Chargers rivalry
DEN Win: Clinch AFC Wild Card with losses by SEA, OAK, NE, & CLE
1980 Pro BowlSundayJanuary 27NFC37–27AFCAloha Stadium

1980s

1980 NFL season

Dallas defeated Washington marking the first time that those teams opened up the Monday Night Football season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played their first game on ABC Thursday, September 11 at home versus the Los Angeles Rams, then played their first Monday night game at Chicago October 6.

The November 24 game was the one where New Orleans Saints fans, watching what would become a dreadful 1–15 campaign that season, began wearing paper bags over their heads and referring to the team as the "Aints". One night later, Sugar Ray Leonard defeated Roberto Duran in the famous 'No Mas' bout for the welterweight world boxing championship.

The December 8 game was forever remembered for Howard Cosell's announcement of the murder of John Lennon with three seconds left in the fourth quarter. ABC News' Nightline provided live coverage of Lennon's death shortly after the conclusion of the game.

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 8Dallas Cowboys17–3Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
2ThursdaySeptember 11Los Angeles Rams9–10Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Stadium1979 NFC Championship Game rematch
MondaySeptember 15Houston Oilers16–7Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
3MondaySeptember 22New York Giants3–35Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumEagles–Giants rivalry
4MondaySeptember 29Denver Broncos14–23New England PatriotsSchaefer StadiumBroncos–Patriots rivalry
5MondayOctober 6Tampa Bay Buccaneers0–23Chicago BearsSoldier Field
6MondayOctober 13Washington Redskins17–20Denver BroncosMile High Stadium
7MondayOctober 20Oakland Raiders45–34Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumRaiders–Steelers rivalry
8SundayOctober 26San Diego Chargers31–42Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
MondayOctober 27Miami Dolphins14–17New York JetsShea StadiumDolphins–Jets rivalry
9MondayNovember 3Chicago Bears21–27Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
10MondayNovember 10New England Patriots34–38Houston OilersThe Astrodome
11MondayNovember 17Oakland Raiders19–17Seattle SeahawksKingdome
12ThursdayNovember 20San Diego Chargers27–24Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
MondayNovember 24Los Angeles Rams27–7New Orleans SaintsLouisiana SuperdomeRams–Saints rivalry
Saints fans in attendance began wearing paper bags over their heads as the team had lost 12 consecutive games.
13MondayDecember 1Denver Broncos3–9Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
14ThursdayDecember 4Pittsburgh Steelers0–6Houston OilersThe AstrodomeOilers–Steelers rivalry
1979 AFC Championship Game rematch
MondayDecember 8New England Patriots13–16Miami DolphinsOrange BowlDolphins–Patriots rivalry
15MondayDecember 15Dallas Cowboys14–38Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium1979 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
16MondayDecember 22Pittsburgh Steelers17–26San Diego ChargersJack Murphy StadiumSD Win: Clinch No. 1 Seed With CLE Loss
1981 Pro BowlSundayFebruary 1AFC7–13NFCAloha Stadium

1981 NFL season

The December 7 game between the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers would mark the final Monday night game played in Oakland prior to the Raiders' move to Los Angeles. The next Monday night game played in Oakland would be held in 1996; one year after the Raiders' return to Oakland in 1995.

The 2 teams that didn't participate this season were the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers and the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals. Both teams later participated in the Super Bowl, where the 49ers won the game and the title 26–21. This was also the 1st time that the 2 eventual Super Bowl contenders didn't play in a Monday Night Football game.

Home teams won every game ABC aired after the month of September, a total of 14 contests.

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 7San Diego Chargers44–14Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
2ThursdaySeptember 10Pittsburgh Steelers10–30Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
MondaySeptember 14Oakland Raiders36–10Minnesota VikingsMetropolitan Stadium
3ThursdaySeptember 17Philadelphia Eagles20–14Buffalo BillsRich Stadium
MondaySeptember 21Dallas Cowboys35–21New England PatriotsSchaefer Stadium
4MondaySeptember 28Los Angeles Rams24–7Chicago BearsSoldier Field
5MondayOctober 5Atlanta Falcons13–16Philadelphia EaglesVeterans Stadium
6MondayOctober 12Miami Dolphins21–31Buffalo BillsRich StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
7SundayOctober 18Los Angeles Rams17–29Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium1980 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
MondayOctober 19Chicago Bears17–48Detroit LionsPontiac SilverdomeBears–Lions rivalry
8MondayOctober 26Houston Oilers13–26Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumOilers–Steelers rivalry
9MondayNovember 2Minnesota Vikings17–19Denver BroncosMile High Stadium
10MondayNovember 9Buffalo Bills14–27Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
11MondayNovember 16San Diego Chargers23–44Seattle SeahawksKingdome
12MondayNovember 23Minnesota Vikings30–31Atlanta FalconsAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium
13MondayNovember 30Philadelphia Eagles10–13Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
14ThursdayDecember 3Cleveland Browns13–17Houston OilersThe Astrodome
MondayDecember 7Pittsburgh Steelers27–30Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumRaiders–Steelers rivalry
15MondayDecember 14Atlanta Falcons16–21Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium
16MondayDecember 21Oakland Raiders10–23San Diego ChargersJack Murphy StadiumChargers–Raiders rivalry
1980 AFC Championship Game rematch
1982 Pro BowlSundayJanuary 31NFC13–16AFCAloha Stadium

1982 NFL season

This was the season in which a nine-week players’ strike forced the NFL to postpone seven regular season games. The September 20 game between the Packers and the Giants would be the last game played until November 21. The Packers-Giants game was the first Monday night game hosted by the Giants.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted their first Monday night game November 29 versus the in-state rival Miami Dolphins, the first regular season meeting between the teams since the Buccaneers' inaugural year of 1976. In 1980, the Buccaneers hosted the Los Angeles Rams in a Thursday night game on ABC.

In the January 3 game between the Cowboys and the Vikings, Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett ran for 99 yards and a touchdown – still the longest running play from scrimmage in the NFL. Worth noting is that the Cowboys had only ten players on offense when the ball was snapped on that play, as fullback Ron Springs did not get onto the playing field in time after Minnesota kicked off to Dallas in the third quarter.

The Cowboys-Vikings game originally was scheduled to be played on Sunday, September 26 (Week 3), but was canceled due to the players’ strike, and then was among 14 canceled games rescheduled to a newly added Week 17 when the strike was settled. This resulted in the Cowboys playing three of their nine regular season games on MNF; the only other teams with two MNF games in the shortened season were the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins (incidentally, the November 8 game pitting the Chargers against the Dolphins in a rematch of "The Epic in Miami" was one of the games canceled as a result of the strike).

The San Francisco 49ers became the first reigning Super Bowl champion not to play a Monday night game, although they were featured in ABC games on other nights (one Thursday, one Sunday). Their scheduled Monday game (week 4 at Tampa Bay) fell victim to the strike.

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 13Pittsburgh Steelers36–28Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Steelers rivalry
2ThursdaySeptember 16Minnesota Vikings22–23Buffalo BillsRich Stadium
MondaySeptember 20Green Bay Packers27–19New York GiantsGiants Stadium
3ThursdaySeptember 23Atlanta FalconsDNP*Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead Stadium
MondaySeptember 27Cincinnati BengalsDNP*Cleveland BrownsCleveland StadiumBengals–Browns rivalry
4MondayOctober 4San Francisco 49ersDNP*Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Stadium
5MondayOctober 11Philadelphia EaglesDNP*Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumEagles–Steelers rivalry
6MondayOctober 18Buffalo BillsDNP*New York JetsShea StadiumBills–Jets rivalry
1981 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
7SundayOctober 24Dallas CowboysDNP*Cincinnati BengalsRiverfront Stadium
MondayOctober 25New York GiantsDNP*Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumEagles–Giants rivalry
1981 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
8MondayNovember 1Detroit LionsDNP*Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeLions–Vikings rivalry
9MondayNovember 8San Diego ChargersDNP*Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl1981 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
(Epic in Miami)
10MondayNovember 15Philadelphia EaglesDNP*Atlanta FalconsAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium
11MondayNovember 22San Diego Chargers24–28Los Angeles RaidersLos Angeles Memorial ColiseumChargers–Raiders rivalry
12MondayNovember 29Miami Dolphins17–23Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa StadiumBuccaneers–Dolphins rivalry
13ThursdayDecember 2San Francisco 49ers30–24Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium49ers–Rams rivalry
MondayDecember 6New York Jets28–13Detroit LionsPontiac Silverdome
14MondayDecember 13Dallas Cowboys37–7Houston OilersThe AstrodomeGovernor's Cup rivalry
15SundayDecember 19Atlanta Falcons17–7San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park
MondayDecember 20Cincinnati Bengals34–50San Diego ChargersJack Murphy Stadium1981 AFC Championship Game rematch
Freezer Bowl
16MondayDecember 27Buffalo Bills10–27Miami DolphinsOrange BowlBills–Dolphins rivalry
17MondayJanuary 3Dallas Cowboys27–31Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
1983 Pro BowlSundayFebruary 6NFC19–20NFCAloha Stadium

1983 NFL season

The September 5 game between the Cowboys and the Redskins was when Howard Cosell referred to Redskins wide receiver Alvin Garrett as a "little monkey." Cosell would also call his final MNF game on December 12 between the Packers and the Buccaneers, and his final NFL game on ABC on Friday night, December 16, between the Jets and Dolphins at Miami. Cosell did not make the trip to the west coast for the last game of the season between the Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers.

Future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino made his NFL debut in the September 19 game between the Raiders and the Dolphins.

The October 10 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals is remembered for the Steelers' Keith Gary grabbing the facemask of Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson on a first-quarter sack and twisting his head 180 degrees. Anderson was knocked out of the game and backup Turk Schonert threw three interceptions, two of which the Steelers returned for touchdowns in a 24–14 Steelers win.

The October 24 game between the Cardinals and the Giants is the only overtime tie in MNF history, as the Cardinals' Neil O'Donoghue blew three field goal attempts in the extra period, one of them from extra-point distance. It was also the first overtime game on a Monday night since Howard Cosell announced the death of John Lennon in 1980.

Both of the Redskins' regular season losses during the 1983 season came on Monday night (Week 1 at home to Dallas; Week 7 to the Packers in Green Bay) by a margin of 1 point in each game.

Following their December 12 overtime loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not play another game on ABC until 1998.

From 1983 to 1986 in addition to some Thursday and Sunday night games, ABC would also televise a Friday night game in week 16.

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 5Dallas Cowboys31–30Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
1982 NFC Championship Game rematch
2ThursdaySeptember 8San Francisco 49ers48–17Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
MondaySeptember 12San Diego Chargers17–14Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumChargers–Chiefs rivalry
3ThursdaySeptember 15Cincinnati Bengals7–17Cleveland BrownsCleveland StadiumBengals–Browns rivalry
MondaySeptember 19Miami Dolphins14–27Los Angeles RaidersLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
4MondaySeptember 26Green Bay Packers3–27New York GiantsGiants Stadium
5MondayOctober 3New York Jets34–10Buffalo BillsRich StadiumBills–Jets rivalry
6MondayOctober 10Pittsburgh Steelers24–14Cincinnati BengalsRiverfront StadiumBengals–Steelers rivalry
7MondayOctober 17Washington Redskins47–48Green Bay PackersLambeau Field
8SundayOctober 23Los Angeles Raiders40–38Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
MondayOctober 24New York Giants20–20St. Louis CardinalsBusch Memorial Stadium
9MondayOctober 31Washington Redskins27–24San Diego ChargersJack Murphy Stadium
10MondayNovember 7New York Giants9–15Detroit LionsPontiac Silverdome
11MondayNovember 14Los Angeles Rams36–13Atlanta FalconsAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium
12MondayNovember 21New York Jets31–28New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
13MondayNovember 28Cincinnati Bengals14–38Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
14ThursdayDecember 1Los Angeles Raiders42–10San Diego ChargersJack Murphy StadiumChargers–Raiders rivalry
MondayDecember 5Minnesota Vikings2–13Detroit LionsPontiac SilverdomeLions–Vikings rivalry
15MondayDecember 12Green Bay Packers12–9Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Stadium
16FridayDecember 16New York Jets14–34Miami DolphinsOrange BowlDolphins–Jets rivalry
1982 AFC Championship Game rematch
MondayDecember 19Dallas Cowboys17–42San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Cowboys rivalry
1984 Pro BowlSundayJanuary 29NFC45–3AFCAloha Stadium

1984 NFL season

The September 6 Thursday special game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets was the first primetime game hosted by the Jets in New Jersey, after relocating from Shea Stadium to Giants Stadium. The Jets previously played a September 1977 game in New Jersey after a scheduling conflict with the New York Mets at Shea.

An early season snowstorm in the October 15 game at Denver caused the Packers to fumble on their first two plays. Both fumbles were returned for Broncos touchdowns. However, the 5-1 Broncos' offense could only muster an additional field goal as the 1-5 Packers scored two touchdowns in the second half and very nearly pulled an upset and also that game marked QB John Elway's Monday Night Football debut.

The October 21 Sunday special game between the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys started at 9:45 EDT (8:45 CDT) due to ABC covering the second 1984 Ronald Reagan–Walter Mondale debate. This was the latest time a regular season NFL game started until 2006 – beginning that year, MNF on ESPN would air two games in week 1, the second kicking off after 10:00 pm EDT. The 1984 Saints-Cowboys game remains the latest NFL kickoff on a broadcast network.

1984 marked the third straight year in which the Cowboys played in both the MNF season opener and season finale. The Cowboys would open the MNF season again in 1985 and 1986 to complete a run of seven Monday night openers in nine seasons. However, they would not close the season on MNF again until 1995, a Christmas night game at Arizona.

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 3Dallas Cowboys20–13Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium1983 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
2ThursdaySeptember 6Pittsburgh Steelers23–17New York JetsGiants Stadium
MondaySeptember 10Washington Redskins31–37San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park1983 NFC Championship Game rematch
3SundaySeptember 16Denver Broncos24–14Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
MondaySeptember 17Miami Dolphins21–17Buffalo BillsRich StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
4MondaySeptember 24San Diego Chargers30–33Los Angeles RaidersLos Angeles Memorial ColiseumChargers–Raiders rivalry
5MondayOctober 1Cincinnati Bengals17–38Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumBengals–Steelers rivalry
6MondayOctober 8San Francisco 49ers31–10New York GiantsGiants Stadium49ers–Giants rivalry
7MondayOctober 15Green Bay Packers14–17Denver BroncosMile High Stadium
8SundayOctober 21New Orleans Saints27–30Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
MondayOctober 22Los Angeles Rams24–10Atlanta FalconsAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium
9MondayOctober 29Seattle Seahawks24–0San Diego ChargersJack Murphy Stadium
10MondayNovember 5Atlanta Falcons14–27Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
11MondayNovember 12Los Angeles Raiders14–17Seattle SeahawksKingdome1983 AFC Championship Game rematch
12MondayNovember 19Pittsburgh Steelers24–27New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
13MondayNovember 26New York Jets17–28Miami DolphinsOrange BowlDolphins–Jets rivalry
14ThursdayNovember 29Washington Redskins31–17Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
MondayDecember 3Chicago Bears7–20San Diego ChargersJack Murphy Stadium
15MondayDecember 10Los Angeles Raiders24–3Detroit LionsPontiac Silverdome
16FridayDecember 14Los Angeles Rams16–19San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Rams rivalry
MondayDecember 17Dallas Cowboys21–28Miami DolphinsOrange BowlMIA Win: Clinch No. 1 Seed With DEN Loss
Super Bowl XIXSundayJanuary 20Miami Dolphins16–38San Francisco 49ersStanford StadiumAFC No. 1 vs NFC No. 1 matchup
1985 Pro BowlJanuary 27AFC22–14NFCAloha Stadium

1985 NFL season

The September 19 Thursday night game is memorable for Bears quarterback Jim McMahon's third quarter performance. Bears coach Mike Ditka elected not to start McMahon because of various ailments keeping him out of practice all week. ABC cameras kept showing McMahon begging Ditka to put him in the game. Finally, with the Vikings leading 17–9, McMahon entered the game and threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Willie Gault on his first snap. The Bears immediately got the ball back at the Vikings' 25-yard line on the next series on a Wilber Marshall fumble recovery, and McMahon hit Dennis McKinnon on the very first play for a touchdown. Then, on the very next series, McMahon completed 3 of 5 passes and another touchdown to McKinnon. For the third quarter, McMahon had taken seven snaps and completed five passes for three touchdowns.

The October 21 game is memorable for rookie Bears defensive lineman William Perry scoring a rushing touchdown after entering the game as an extra backfield blocker.

The October 28 game marked the final Monday night appearance at home for the Los Angeles Raiders until their return to Oakland in 1995, as well as the final Monday night game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until 2018.

In the November 11 game, a thrown snowball caused the 49ers to miss an extra point, a determining factor in the team's one-point loss and also that game marked Wide Receiver Jerry Rice's Monday Night Football debut.

The November 18 game between the Giants and the Redskins is infamous for Lawrence Taylor's sack that left Joe Theismann with a broken leg, ending Theismann's career.

The December 2 game between the Bears and the Dolphins, when the Dolphins put an end to the Bears' bid to match their undefeated season in 1972, was and still is the highest rated game in Monday Night Football history.

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 9Washington Redskins14–44Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
2ThursdaySeptember 12Los Angeles Raiders20–36Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumChiefs–Raiders rivalry
MondaySeptember 16Pittsburgh Steelers7–17Cleveland BrownsCleveland StadiumBrowns–Steelers rivalry
3ThursdaySeptember 19Chicago Bears33–24Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeBears–Vikings rivalry
MondaySeptember 23Los Angeles Rams35–24Seattle SeahawksKingdome
4MondaySeptember 30Cincinnati Bengals37–24Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumBengals–Steelers rivalry
5SundayOctober 6Dallas Cowboys30–29New York GiantsGiants StadiumCowboys–Giants rivalry
MondayOctober 7St. Louis Cardinals10–27Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
6MondayOctober 14Miami Dolphins7–23New York JetsGiants StadiumDolphins–Jets rivalry
7MondayOctober 21Green Bay Packers7–23Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Packers rivalry
8MondayOctober 28San Diego Chargers21–34Los Angeles RaidersLos Angeles Memorial ColiseumChargers–Raiders rivalry
9MondayNovember 4Dallas Cowboys10–21St. Louis CardinalsBusch Memorial Stadium
10MondayNovember 11San Francisco 49ers16–17Denver BroncosMile High Stadium
11MondayNovember 18New York Giants21–23Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumGiants–Redskins rivalry
12MondayNovember 25Seattle Seahawks6–19San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park
13MondayDecember 2Chicago Bears24–38Miami DolphinsOrange Bowl
14SundayDecember 8Pittsburgh Steelers44–54San Diego ChargersJack Murphy Stadium
MondayDecember 9Los Angeles Rams27–20San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Rams rivalry
15MondayDecember 16New England Patriots27–30Miami DolphinsOrange BowlDolphins–Patriots rivalry
16FridayDecember 20Denver Broncos27–24Seattle SeahawksKingdome
MondayDecember 23Los Angeles Raiders16–6Los Angeles RamsAnaheim StadiumLA Win: Clinch No.1 Seed With MIA Loss
1986 Pro BowlSundayFebruary 2NFC28–24AFCAloha Stadium

1986 NFL season

During this season, MacGyver began a six-year run as the program's lead-in – the longest lasting such program in history.

The September 8 game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys marked the NFL debut of Herschel Walker.

The September 29 game was the last MNF game in St. Louis until 2000, when the Rams played their season opener at the Trans World Dome.

The October 27 game took place at the same time as Game 7 of the 1986 World Series at Shea Stadium in nearby Flushing, New York (the World Series finale was scheduled for the previous night, but was rained out).

The Sunday, December 7 game between the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys is remembered for Cowboys head coach Tom Landry being escorted off the field before the start of the 4th quarter due to Anaheim police learning of a threat on Landry's life. Landry would return after being fitted with a bulletproof vest.[2]

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 8New York Giants28–31Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Giants rivalry
2ThursdaySeptember 11New England Patriots20–6New York JetsGiants StadiumJets–Patriots rivalry
1985 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
MondaySeptember 15Denver Broncos21–10Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium
3ThursdaySeptember 18Cincinnati Bengals30–13Cleveland BrownsCleveland StadiumBengals–Browns rivalry
MondaySeptember 22Chicago Bears25–12Green Bay PackersLambeau FieldBears–Packers rivalry
4MondaySeptember 29Dallas Cowboys31–7St. Louis CardinalsBusch Memorial Stadium
5MondayOctober 6San Diego Chargers7–33Seattle SeahawksKingdome
6MondayOctober 13Pittsburgh Steelers22–24Cincinnati BengalsRiverfront StadiumBengals–Steelers rivalry
7MondayOctober 20Denver Broncos10–22New York JetsGiants Stadium
8MondayOctober 27Washington Redskins20–27New York GiantsGiants StadiumGiants–Redskins rivalry
9MondayNovember 3Los Angeles Rams20–17Chicago BearsSoldier Field1985 NFC Championship Game rematch
10MondayNovember 10Miami Dolphins16–26Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium1985 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
11MondayNovember 17San Francisco 49ers6–14Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
12ThursdayNovember 20Los Angeles Raiders37–31San Diego ChargersJack Murphy StadiumChargers–Raiders rivalry
MondayNovember 24New York Jets3–45Miami DolphinsOrange BowlDolphins–Jets rivalry
13MondayDecember 1New York Giants21–17San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Giants rivalry
1985 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
14SundayDecember 7Dallas Cowboys10–29Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium1985 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
MondayDecember 8Los Angeles Raiders0–37Seattle SeahawksKingdome
15MondayDecember 15Chicago Bears16–13Detroit LionsPontiac SilverdomeBears–Lions rivalry
16FridayDecember 19Los Angeles Rams14–24San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Rams rivalry
Winner: Clinch No. 3 Seed
Loser: Wild Card No. 5 Seed
MondayDecember 22New England Patriots34–27Miami DolphinsOrange BowlDolphins–Patriots rivalry
1985 AFC Championship Game rematch
1987 Pro BowlSundayFebruary 1AFC10–6NFCAloha Stadium

1987 NFL season

There was a player strike called after the completion of Week 2's games. As a result, all games for Week 3 were canceled but unlike the 1982 players' strike, owners decided to resume play with replacement players. Replacement players were used in games played from Week 4 until Week 6 (including the 49ersGiants, RaidersBroncos, and RedskinsCowboys MNF games). Once a new collective bargaining agreement ended the strike, regular players came back and played starting with Week 7.

The October 26 game between the Broncos and the Vikings was rescheduled because Game 7 of the 1987 World Series (which was also broadcast by ABC), which featured the Minnesota Twins, had to play at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on Sunday night when the Vikings were originally slated to host the Broncos. Therefore, the game was moved to Monday night, and was played simultaneously with the BrownsRams game. Coincidentally, the Browns had been slated to host the Broncos in the canceled Monday night game (in a rematch of The Drive). The Broncos-Vikings game, originally to be shown on NBC, was broadcast only in Colorado and Minnesota areas as part of ABC's Monday Night Football package. Meanwhile, the rest of the country saw the previously scheduled game: Los Angeles Rams at Cleveland, which turned out to be Eric Dickerson's last with the Rams.[3]

The November 30 Raiders/Seahawks game marked the memorable Monday Night Football debut of Bo Jackson, with his 91-yard touchdown run. Before that, he ran over Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth for another score.

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 14New York Giants19–34Chicago BearsSoldier FieldLast two Super Bowl Champions
2MondaySeptember 21New England Patriots24–43New York JetsGiants StadiumJets–Patriots rivalry
3MondaySeptember 28Denver BroncosDNP*Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium1986 AFC Championship Game rematch
4MondayOctober 5San Francisco 49ers41–21New York GiantsGiants Stadium49ers–Giants rivalry
1986 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
5MondayOctober 12Los Angeles Raiders14–30Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
6MondayOctober 19Washington Redskins13–7Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
7MondayOctober 26Los Angeles Rams17–30Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
Denver Broncos27–34Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
8MondayNovember 2New York Giants24–33Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Giants rivalry
9MondayNovember 9Seattle Seahawks14–30New York JetsGiants Stadium
10MondayNovember 16Chicago Bears29–31Denver BroncosMile High Stadium
11MondayNovember 23Los Angeles Rams30–26Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
12MondayNovember 30Los Angeles Raiders37–14Seattle SeahawksKingdome
13MondayDecember 7New York Jets28–37Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie StadiumDolphins–Jets rivalry
14MondayDecember 14Chicago Bears0–41San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park
15MondayDecember 21Dallas Cowboys29–21Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium
16MondayDecember 28New England Patriots24–10Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie StadiumDolphins–Patriots rivalry
NE and MIA Win: Clinch AFC East With IND Loss
Super Bowl XXIISundayJanuary 31Washington Redskins42–10Denver BroncosJack Murphy StadiumNFC No. 3 vs AFC No. 1 matchup

1988 NFL season

The September 12 game between the Cowboys and the Cardinals was the first game the Cardinals played in Arizona after relocating from St. Louis. The Cardinals did not return to MNF until the 1995 finale on Christmas Day, also against the Cowboys.

The October 3 game between the Cowboys and the Saints would be the final MNF game coached by Tom Landry, as well as for the Cowboys team as a whole until 1991.

The October 17 game between the Bills and the Jets would be the last game for Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau prior to Gastineau's sudden retirement; stated as being due to wanting to care for his mistress, actress Brigette Nielsen, following a uterine cancer diagnosis.

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 5Washington Redskins20–27New York GiantsGiants StadiumGiants–Redskins rivalry
Last two Super Bowl Champions
2MondaySeptember 12Dallas Cowboys17–14Phoenix CardinalsSun Devil Stadium
3MondaySeptember 19Indianapolis Colts17–23Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium1987 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
4MondaySeptember 26Los Angeles Raiders30–27Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
5MondayOctober 3Dallas Cowboys17–20New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
6MondayOctober 10New York Giants13–24Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumEagles–Giants rivalry
7MondayOctober 17Buffalo Bills37–14New York JetsGiants StadiumBills–Jets rivalry
8MondayOctober 24San Francisco 49ers9–10Chicago BearsSoldier Field
9MondayOctober 31Denver Broncos23–55Indianapolis ColtsHoosier DomeFirst MNF game in Indianapolis since relocation to Baltimore
10MondayNovember 7Cleveland Browns17–24Houston OilersThe Astrodome
11MondayNovember 14Buffalo Bills31–6Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
12MondayNovember 21Washington Redskins21–37San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park
13MondayNovember 28Los Angeles Raiders27–35Seattle SeahawksKingdome
14MondayDecember 5Chicago Bears3–23Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium
15MondayDecember 12Cleveland Browns31–38Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium
16MondayDecember 19Chicago Bears27–28Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeBears–Vikings rivalry

1989 NFL season

The October 9 game between the Raiders and the Jets was the first game for Art Shell as the Raiders head coach, becoming the first African-American NFL head coach in the modern era (Shell had been named interim head coach following the firing of Mike Shanahan).

The November 6 game between the Saints and the 49ers was originally scheduled for New Orleans but was switched with their October 8 game when the San Francisco Giants played in the NLCS.

The December 11 game between the 49ers and the Rams had John Taylor become the first player in NFL history to score two touchdowns of over 90 yards in a single game.

The December 25 game between the Bengals and the Vikings was the first NFL game played on Christmas Day since the 1971 divisional playoffs. (The Vikings also hosted one of the two Christmas Day 1971 playoff games, losing to the eventual Super Bowl VI champion Cowboys.)

1989 marked the first year in which the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys did not appear on Monday Night Football. The Miami Dolphins appeared on ABC's Monday Night Football every year except for this year and the 2005 season. While the Dallas Cowboys will not return MNF until 1991

1989 also marked Monday Night Footballs 20th season, and Hank Williams, Jr. made his debut to the program with his hit "All My Rowdy Friends".

WeekDayDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1MondaySeptember 11New York Giants27–24Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumGiants–Redskins rivalry
2MondaySeptember 18Denver Broncos28–14Buffalo BillsRich Stadium
3MondaySeptember 25Cleveland Browns14–21Cincinnati BengalsRiverfront StadiumBengals–Browns rivalry
4MondayOctober 2Philadelphia Eagles13–27Chicago BearsSoldier Field1988 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
(Fog Bowl)
5MondayOctober 9Los Angeles Raiders14–7New York JetsGiants Stadium
6MondayOctober 16Los Angeles Rams20–23Buffalo BillsRich Stadium
7MondayOctober 23Chicago Bears7–27Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
8MondayOctober 30Minnesota Vikings14–24New York GiantsGiants Stadium
9MondayNovember 6New Orleans Saints13–31San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park
10MondayNovember 13Cincinnati Bengals24–26Houston OilersThe Astrodome
11MondayNovember 20Denver Broncos14–10Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
12MondayNovember 27New York Giants24–34San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Giants rivalry
13MondayDecember 4Buffalo Bills16–17Seattle SeahawksKingdome
14MondayDecember 11San Francisco 49ers30–27Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium49ers–Rams rivalry
15MondayDecember 18Philadelphia Eagles20–30New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
16MondayDecember 25Cincinnati Bengals21–29Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeMIN Win: NFC Central Champions, PIT clinches AFC Wild Card & #5 Seed, CIN & GB eliminated
CIN Win: Clinch AFC Wild Card & #4 Seed, GB NFC Central Champions, PIT & MIN eliminated

1990s

1990 NFL season

The November 12 game between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles is known as the infamous Body Bag Game, in which Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan promised a beating so severe, that the Redskins would have to be "hauled off in body bags." The Redskins had the last laugh, however, as these two teams met in the same stadium on the same network in the Wild Card playoffs – the first ever such game aired on ABC. The Redskins won 20–6.

With the 1990 season, a new practice featured the defending Super Bowl champions playing the first Monday Night game of the season. The practice was maintained through 2003 (except for 1994, 1995, and 2001). In the 1990 MNF opener, the San Francisco 49ers took on the New Orleans Saints on September 10 roughly seven months after defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV in the same stadium, the Superdome.

The December 31 game started at 8 PM EST rather than 9 PM EST to allow New Year's Rockin' Eve to air as normal. The Superdome became the first and remains the only, stadium to host both the MNF opener and finale in the same season. Besides the New Orleans Saints, the only other teams to have played in both the MNF opener and finale in the same season have been the San Francisco 49ers in 1977, 1991, and 1994; the San Diego Chargers in 1981; the Dallas Cowboys in 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1995; and the Green Bay Packers in 2008. However, at least one of the games played by each of those other teams was on the road.

Super Bowl XXV is best remembered for its signature play – Scott Norwood of the Buffalo Bills missed what would have been the game-winning field goal, as it sailed wide right.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 10San Francisco 49ers13–12New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
2September 17Kansas City Chiefs23–24Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Chiefs rivalry
3September 24Buffalo Bills30–7New York JetsGiants StadiumBills–Jets rivalry
4October 1Cincinnati Bengals16–31Seattle SeahawksKingdome
5October 8Cleveland Browns30–29Denver BroncosMile High Stadium1989 AFC Championship Game rematch
6October 15Minnesota Vikings24–32Philadelphia EaglesVeterans Stadium
7October 22Cincinnati Bengals34–13Cleveland BrownsCleveland StadiumBengals–Browns rivalry
8October 29Los Angeles Rams10–41Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium
9November 5New York Giants24–7Indianapolis ColtsHoosier Dome
10November 12Washington Redskins14–28Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumEagles–Redskins rivalry
Body Bag Game
11November 19Los Angeles Raiders13–10Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium
12November 26Buffalo Bills24–27Houston OilersAstrodome
13December 3New York Giants3–7San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Giants rivalry
14December 10Los Angeles Raiders38–31Detroit LionsPontiac Silverdome
15December 17San Francisco 49ers26–10Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium49ers–Rams rivalry
1989 NFC Championship Game rematch
16December 22Washington Redskins28–35Indianapolis ColtsHoosier DomeSaturday game.
17December 31Los Angeles Rams17–20New Orleans SaintsLouisiana SuperdomeRams–Saints rivalry
NO win: NFC No. 6 seeded Wild Card
NO loss: DAL NFC No. 6 seeded Wild Card, NO eliminated
Wild Card Saturday January 5Washington Redskins20–6Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumEagles–Redskins rivalry
NFC No. 5 vs. NFC No. 4 matchup
Kansas City Chiefs16–17Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie StadiumAFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
Super Bowl XXVJanuary 27Buffalo Bills19–20New York GiantsTampa StadiumWide Right

1991 NFL season

The November 25 game was the last MNF game played in the Los Angeles area (until 2018), the last appearance for the Los Angeles Rams before moving to St. Louis in 1995, and the last MNF game played in Anaheim, California. The Rams dropped to 0–4 in home MNF games against the arch-rival San Francisco 49ers, with previous defeats coming in 1976, 1989, and 1990; they also lost a Thursday night home game to the 49ers in 1982.

The September 9 game between the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys was the first Monday Night Football game for the Cowboys since the 1988 season, which was Tom Landry's final season, also this game marked Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin debut on Monday Night Football. .

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 2San Francisco 49ers14–16New York GiantsGiants Stadium49ers–Giants rivalry
1990 NFC Championship Game rematch
2September 9Washington Redskins33–31Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
3September 16Kansas City Chiefs7–17Houston OilersThe Astrodome
4September 23New York Jets13–19Chicago BearsSoldier Field
5September 30Philadelphia Eagles0–23Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumEagles–Redskins rivalry
1990 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
6October 7Buffalo Bills6–33Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead Stadium
7October 14New York Giants23–20Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium
8October 21Cincinnati Bengals16–35Buffalo BillsRich Stadium
9October 28Los Angeles Raiders21–24Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumChiefs–Raiders rivalry
10November 4New York Giants7–30Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumEagles–Giants rivalry
11November 11Chicago Bears34–17Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeBears–Vikings rivalry
12November 18Buffalo Bills41–27Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
1990 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
13November 25San Francisco 49ers33–10Los Angeles RamsAnaheim Stadium49ers–Rams rivalry
14December 2Philadelphia Eagles13–6Houston OilersThe Astrodome
15December 9Cincinnati Bengals13–37Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium
16December 16Los Angeles Raiders0–27New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
17December 23Chicago Bears14–52San Francisco 49ersCandlestick ParkCHI win: CHI NFC Central Champions, first-round bye & NFC No. 2 seed
CHI loss: NFC No. 4 seeded Wild Card, DET NFC Central Champions, first-round bye & NFC No. 2 seed
Wild Card Saturday December 28Los Angeles Raiders6–10Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumChiefs–Raiders rivalry
AFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
Atlanta Falcons27–20New Orleans SaintsLouisiana SuperdomeFalcons–Saints rivalry
NFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup

1992 NFL season

Monday Night Football celebrated the 100th anniversary of nighttime football on September 28, 1992, with a game between the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.[4] The first recorded night football game was the 1892 Wyoming Seminary vs. Mansfield State Normal football game and ended at halftime with a 0–0 tie.[5]

The season opener on September 7 featured the defending champion facing off against the current season's champion. In this case it was the Washington Redskins (winner of Super Bowl XXVI) versus the eventual Super Bowl XXVII winner Dallas Cowboys.

The November 30 game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks marked the final Monday Night Football game at Kingdome. also the last MNF game in Seattle until 2002.

The December 28 game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers marked Running Back Barry Sanders's debut on Monday Night Football

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 7Washington Redskins10–23Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
2September 14Miami Dolphins27–23Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
3September 21New York Giants27–14Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Giants rivalry
4September 28Los Angeles Raiders7–27Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumChiefs–Raiders rivalry
1991 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
5October 5Dallas Cowboys7–31Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumCowboys–Eagles rivalry
6October 12Denver Broncos3–34Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumSuper Bowl XXII rematch
7October 19Cincinnati Bengals0–20Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumBengals–Steelers rivalry
8October 26Buffalo Bills24–20New York JetsGiants StadiumBills–Jets rivalry
9November 2Minnesota Vikings38–10Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Vikings rivalry
10November 9San Francisco 49ers41–3Atlanta FalconsGeorgia Dome
11November 16Buffalo Bills26–20Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
12November 23Washington Redskins3–20New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
13November 30Denver Broncos13–16Seattle SeahawksKingdomeBroncos–Seahawks rivalry
14December 7Chicago Bears7–24Houston OilersThe Astrodome
15December 14Los Angeles Raiders7–20Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium
16December 21Dallas Cowboys41–17Atlanta FalconsGeorgia Dome
17December 28Detroit Lions6–24San Francisco 49ersCandlestick ParkJoe Montana's last MNF game.
Wild Card Saturday January 2Washington Redskins24–7Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeNFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
Kansas City Chiefs0–17San Diego ChargersJack Murphy StadiumChargers–Chiefs rivalry
AFC No. 6 vs. AFC No. 3 matchup

1993 NFL season

The September 6 game marked the first time in 10 years that the Washington Redskins hosted the Dallas Cowboys on MNF rather than visiting them. At the time, it was the most frequently seen match-up on the series, and it would be the last time these two teams played each other on MNF at RFK Stadium.

The September 13 game was the last win for the Cleveland Browns (who had won the very first MNF game in 1970) on the ABC program, and last win overall until 2008.

The October 18 game marked the first of nine meetings between the Los Angeles Raiders and Denver Broncos on MNF over an 11-year span, seven of these games being played in Denver.

The November 8 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, marked Quarterback Brett Favre's Monday Night Football debut.

During the January 3 game, the Philadelphia Eagles missed a game-winning field goal as the overtime period expired, which would have left the game a tie. However, a penalty against the San Francisco 49ers allowed a re-kick, and the Eagles were granted one untimed down. On the second attempt, the field goal was good and the deadlock was barely averted, preserving the fourth of what would eventually be seven consecutive tie-free seasons.

Both Wild Card playoff games featured a thrilling comeback victories by Green Bay and Kansas City after both being down 17–7 in the third quarter in their respective games.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 6Dallas Cowboys16–35Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
2September 13San Francisco 49ers13–23Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
3September 20Denver Broncos7–15Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumBroncos–Chiefs rivalry
4September 27Pittsburgh Steelers45–17Atlanta FalconsGeorgia Dome
5October 4Washington Redskins10–17Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie StadiumSuper Bowl VII and XVII
6October 11Houston Oilers7–35Buffalo BillsRich Stadium1992 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
(The Comeback)
7October 18Los Angeles Raiders23–20Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
8October 25Minnesota Vikings19–12Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Vikings rivalry
9November 1Washington Redskins10–24Buffalo BillsRich StadiumSuper Bowl XXVI rematch
10November 8Green Bay Packers16–23Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumSuper Bowl I rematch
11November 15Buffalo Bills0–23Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium1992 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
12November 22New Orleans Saints7–42San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park
13November 29San Diego Chargers31–0Indianapolis ColtsHoosier Dome
14December 6Philadelphia Eagles17–23Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Eagles rivalry
1992 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
15December 13Pittsburgh Steelers21–20Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium
16December 20New York Giants24–14New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
17December 27Miami Dolphins20–45San Diego ChargersJack Murphy Stadium1992 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
18January 3Philadelphia Eagles37–34San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park
Wild Card Saturday January 8Green Bay Packers28–24Detroit LionsPontiac SilverdomeLions–Packers rivalry
NFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
Pittsburgh Steelers24–27Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumAFC No. 6 vs. AFC No. 3 matchup

1994 NFL season

ABC was unable to air the opener of the Dallas Cowboys, the previous season's Super Bowl champion, after the NFL guaranteed Fox it would have the Cowboys' game at Pittsburgh for its main doubleheader game. It was Fox's first Sunday of televising NFL games after gaining the NFC package from CBS.

In the September 5 game, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice broke Jim Brown's touchdown record.

The first two-point conversion in MNF history came on September 12, when Chicago Bears quarterback Erik Kramer threw a pass to Curtis Conway.[6]

The October 17 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos featured a quarterback matchup between Joe Montana and John Elway. Montana led the Chiefs to a 75-yard game-winning drive with 8 seconds left.

The October 31 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears was played in a driving rain with wind gusts up to 36 mph. Coincidentally, it also marked the 11th anniversary of the death of former Bears player, coach and owner George Halas. At halftime, the Bears retired the #51 jersey of legendary linebacker Dick Butkus. The game was played four hours after American Eagle Flight 4184, scheduled to land at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, crashed into a field in Roselawn, Indiana, killing all 64 passengers and four crew members aboard.

The November 7 game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys included a fight between several players from both teams, including safety James Washington grabbing and swinging a cameraman's tripod.

The November 21 game was the first for Jeff Fisher as coach of the Houston Oilers. He would remain with the franchise through the end of the 2010 season, by which point they had become the Tennessee Titans. This was also the last MNF game for the Oilers before their move to Tennessee in 1997 and their name change to the Titans in 1999, and the last one in Houston until 2008.

The December 12 game would be re-matched later that month in the Wild Card playoffs in the same stadium, on the same network, and would be the last NFL appearance for Joe Montana.

The December 19 game between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints was the first NFL start for Larry Allen, who replaced Erik Williams after he suffered season-ending injuries from an automobile accident. Allen provided a memorable play early in the game when Saints linebacker Darion Conner intercepted a Troy Aikman pass and looked to be on his way to a breakaway touchdown. However, the 325-pound Allen surprisingly ran Conner down from behind short of the end zone. Larry Allen would play 14 seasons in the NFL and is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The 49ers became the first, and remain the only, team to win the Super Bowl after losing the MNF season finale. Coincidentally, Super Bowl XXIX was also televised by ABC.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 5Los Angeles Raiders14–44San Francisco 49ersCandlestick Park49ers–Raiders rivalry
2September 12Chicago Bears22–30Philadelphia EaglesVeterans Stadium
3September 19Detroit Lions20–17Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
4September 26Denver Broncos20–27Buffalo BillsRich Stadium
5October 3Houston Oilers14–30Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumOilers–Steelers rivalry
6October 10Minnesota Vikings27–10New York GiantsGiants Stadium1993 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
7October 17Kansas City Chiefs31–28Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Chiefs rivalry
8October 24Houston Oilers6–21Philadelphia EaglesVeterans Stadium
9October 31Green Bay Packers33–6Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Packers rivalry, Halloween
10November 7New York Giants10–38Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Giants rivalry
11November 14Buffalo Bills10–23Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium
12November 21New York Giants13–10Houston OilersThe Astrodome
13November 28San Francisco 49ers35–14New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
14December 5Los Angeles Raiders24–17San Diego ChargersJack Murphy StadiumChargers–Raiders rivalry
15December 12Kansas City Chiefs28–45Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium
16December 19Dallas Cowboys24–16New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome
17December 26San Francisco 49ers14–21Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeMIN win: NFC Central Champions
MIN loss: GB NFC Central Champions, MIN No. 4 seeded Wild Card
Wild Card Saturday December 31Detroit Lions12–16Green Bay PackersLambeau FieldLions–Packers rivalry
1993 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
NFC No. 5 vs. NFC No. 4 matchup
Kansas City Chiefs17–27Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie StadiumAFC No. 6 vs. AFC No. 3 matchup
Super Bowl XXIXJanuary 29San Diego Chargers26–49San Francisco 49ersJoe Robbie StadiumAFC No. 2 vs. NFC No. 1 matchup
1995 Pro BowlFebruary 5AFC41–13NFCAloha Stadium

1995 NFL season

In the September 11 game, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Robert Brooks against the Chicago Bears. It was the eighth 99-yard touchdown pass in NFL history. The game also featured a death-defying leap when a fan caught a field goal after leaping off the side of the tunnel at Soldier Field.[7] [8]

In the October 9 game, Kansas City Chiefs kick returner Tamarick Vanover returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown to win the game for the Chiefs against the San Diego Chargers.

The October 23 game between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, marked Quarterback Drew Bledsoe's Monday Night Football debut.

The November 13 game between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers was played one week after Browns owner Art Modell announced that he would be moving the team to Baltimore for the 1996 season.

Two days after the November 20 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins, the world's first computer-animated movie, Toy Story was released by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios.

Some portions of the December 25 Dallas Cowboys-Arizona Cardinals game were used in the 1996 film, Jerry Maguire. In that game, Dallas' Emmitt Smith scored his 25th rushing touchdown of this season, an NFL record.

The December 30 wild card game between the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles was the highest-scoring playoff game in league history until it was surpassed by a 51–45 overtime win for the Arizona Cardinals over the Green Bay Packers on January 10, 2010.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 4Dallas Cowboys35–0New York GiantsGiants StadiumCowboys–Giants rivalry
2September 11Green Bay Packers27–24Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Packers rivalry
3September 18Pittsburgh Steelers10–23Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium
4September 25San Francisco 49ers24–27Detroit LionsPontiac Silverdome
5October 2Buffalo Bills22–19Cleveland BrownsCleveland Stadium
6October 9San Diego Chargers23–29Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumChargers–Chiefs rivalry
7October 16Oakland Raiders0–27Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
8October 23Buffalo Bills14–27New England PatriotsFoxboro StadiumBills–Patriots rivalry
9October 30Chicago Bears14–6Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeBears–Vikings rivalry
1994 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
10November 6Philadelphia Eagles12–34Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Eagles rivalry
11November 13Cleveland Browns3–20Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers StadiumBrowns–Steelers rivalry
1994 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
12November 20San Francisco 49ers44–20Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium
13November 27Oakland Raiders6–12San Diego ChargersJack Murphy StadiumChargers–Raiders rivalry
14December 4Chicago Bears7–27Detroit LionsPontiac SilverdomeBears–Lions rivalry
15December 11Kansas City Chiefs6–13Miami DolphinsJoe Robbie Stadium1994 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
16December 18Minnesota Vikings30–37San Francisco 49ers3Com Park
17December 25Dallas Cowboys37–13Arizona CardinalsSun Devil StadiumDAL win: NFC No. 1 seed
DAL loss: NFC No. 2 seed, SF NFC No. 1 seed
Wild Card Saturday December 30Miami Dolphins22–37Buffalo BillsRich StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
AFC No. 6 vs. AFC No. 3 matchup
Detroit Lions37–58Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumNFC No. 5 vs. NFC No. 4 matchup
1996 Pro BowlFebruary 4NFC20–13AFCAloha Stadium

1996 NFL season

Though the Oakland Raiders played two Monday Night games last season as well as one previous game this season, the November 4 matchup versus Denver marked the Raiders first home Monday Night game in Oakland since Monday December 7, 1981.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 2Dallas Cowboys6–22Chicago BearsSoldier Field
2September 9Philadelphia Eagles13–39Green Bay PackersLambeau Field
3September 16Buffalo Bills6–24Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium1995 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
4September 23Miami Dolphins6–10Indianapolis ColtsRCA Dome
5September 30Dallas Cowboys23–19Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumCowboys–Eagles rivalry
1995 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
6October 7Pittsburgh Steelers17–7Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead Stadium
7October 14San Francisco 49ers20–23Green Bay PackersLambeau Field1995 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
8October 21Oakland Raiders23–14San Diego ChargersJack Murphy StadiumChargers–Raiders rivalry
9October 28Chicago Bears15–13Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeBears–Vikings rivalry
10November 4Denver Broncos22–21Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
11November 11Detroit Lions21–27San Diego ChargersJack Murphy Stadium
12November 18Green Bay Packers6–21Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Packers rivalry
1995 NFC Championship Game rematch
13November 25Pittsburgh Steelers24–17Miami DolphinsPro Player Stadium
14December 2San Francisco 49ers34–10Atlanta FalconsGeorgia Dome
15December 9Kansas City Chiefs7–26Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumChiefs–Raiders rivalry
16December 16Buffalo Bills14–16Miami DolphinsPro Player StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
1995 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
17December 23Detroit Lions14–24San Francisco 49ers3Com ParkSF Win: Clinch No. 2 Seed With CAR Loss
Wild Card Saturday December 28Jacksonville Jaguars30–27Buffalo BillsRich StadiumAFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
Minnesota Vikings15–40Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumNFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
1997 Pro BowlFebruary 2AFC26–23NFCAloha Stadium

1997 NFL season

The September 22 game between the Steelers and the Jaguars (playing on Monday night for the first time in their short history) had one of the craziest endings in MNF history. The Jaguars were up 2 with almost no time left and Pittsburgh attempted a game-winning field goal. Jacksonville blocked it and Chris Hudson returned it the other way for a touchdown. During the return, Steelers head coach Bill Cowher cocked his fist back like he was going to throw a punch at Hudson when he was running down the Steelers sideline for the winning score. The extra point was finally kicked about 15 minutes after ABC signed off.

The September 29 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers was the Panthers' first MNF game in franchise history and the first MNF game in Charlotte.

The October 27 game between the Bears and the Dolphins was rescheduled because Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, which featured the Florida Marlins, had to play at Pro Player Stadium on Sunday night, when the Dolphins originally were slated to host the Bears. Therefore, the game was moved to Monday night and was played simultaneously with the Packers-Patriots game (a rematch of Super Bowl XXXI, the only time MNF aired a rematch of a Super Bowl from the year before and the last Super Bowl rematch until the Broncos-Seahawks game in 2014). The Bears-Dolphins game, originally to be shown on Fox, was broadcast only in the Chicago and Miami areas as part of ABC's ''Monday Night Football.'' The rest of the country saw the previously scheduled game: a Super Bowl rematch between Green Bay and New England.[9] [10] After the conclusion of the Packer game, viewers were not taken to the conclusion of the close Bears win but instead went to local news. Because the Bears-Dolphins game was intended to be played Sunday on Fox (which aired Super Bowl XXXI, at the time the network's highest-rated program ever, and would have aired the Packers-Patriots game if it was played on Sunday afternoon as well), this marked a rare time in history where the Dolphins wore their white jerseys in a nighttime home game.

The November 10 game between the 49ers and the Eagles was the infamous game in which a fan had fired off a flare gun in Veterans Stadium, leading to the introduction of the court in the stadium.

The December 15 game between the 49ers and the Broncos is remembered for Jerry Rice's return from a torn ACL suffered in Week 1 against Tampa Bay, (however he suffer a cracked kneecap on a touchdown catch in the second quarter and missed the remainder of the season) and the jersey retirement ceremony for Joe Montana. The game is also well known for an incident where Broncos linebacker (and former 49er) Bill Romanowski spitting in the face of 49ers wide receiver J.J. Stokes.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 1Chicago Bears24–38Green Bay PackersLambeau FieldBears–Packers rivalry
2September 8Kansas City Chiefs28–27Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumChiefs–Raiders rivalry
3September 15Philadelphia Eagles20–21Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Eagles rivalry
4September 22Pittsburgh Steelers21–30Jacksonville JaguarsAlltel Stadium
5September 29San Francisco 49ers34–21Carolina PanthersEricsson Stadium
6October 6New England Patriots13–34Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Patriots rivalry
7October 13Dallas Cowboys16–21Washington RedskinsJack Kent Cooke StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
8October 20Buffalo Bills9–6Indianapolis ColtsRCA Dome
9October 27Green Bay Packers28–10New England PatriotsFoxboro StadiumSuper Bowl XXXI rematch
Chicago Bears36–33Miami DolphinsPro Player Stadium
10November 3Pittsburgh Steelers10–13Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead Stadium
11November 10San Francisco 49ers24–12Philadelphia EaglesVeterans Stadium1996 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
12November 17Buffalo Bills13–30Miami DolphinsPro Player StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
13November 24Oakland Raiders3–31Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
14December 1Green Bay Packers27–11Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomePackers–Vikings rivalry
15December 8Carolina Panthers23–13Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium1996 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
16December 15Denver Broncos17–34San Francisco 49ers3Com ParkJoe Montana's jersey retirement night, and Jerry Rice's much-anticipated return
17December 22New England Patriots14–12Miami DolphinsPro Player StadiumDolphins–Patriots rivalry
Winner: AFC East Champions, host loser in AFC No. 6 vs. AFC No. 3 Wild Card Game.
Wild Card Saturday December 27Minnesota Vikings23–22New York GiantsGiants StadiumNFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
Jacksonville Jaguars17–42Denver BroncosMile High Stadium1996 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
AFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
1998 Pro BowlFebruary 1NFC24–29AFCAloha Stadium

1998 NFL season

This season was notable because it featured the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the first time since 1983 when the team lost to the Green Bay Packers on December 12 of that year. The team played two Monday night games in 1998 losing to Detroit in Week 4 but beating Green Bay in Week 14. Ironically, the December 1983 game was the second and final Monday night game played at Tampa Stadium though ABC would air Super Bowl XXV played at the stadium. The December 7, 1998 game versus Green Bay was the first Monday night played at Raymond James Stadium and came just about 5 days shy of 15 years after the previous game hosted in Tampa.

The October 5th game between Minnesota and Green Bay proved to be the coming out moment for Wide Receiver Randy Moss in his MNF debut. He caught 5 passes for 190 yards and 2 scores in the Minnesota victory.

The December 14 game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers, marked Running Back Barry Sanders final appearance at Monday Night Football.

The December 21 game between the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins, marked Quarterback John Elway's final appearance at Monday Night Football.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 7New England Patriots21–27Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Patriots rivalry
2September 14San Francisco 49ers45–10Washington RedskinsJack Kent Cooke Stadium
3September 21Dallas Cowboys31–7New York GiantsGiants StadiumCowboys–Giants rivalry
4September 28Tampa Bay Buccaneers6–27Detroit LionsPontiac Silverdome1997 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
5October 5Minnesota Vikings37–24Green Bay PackersLambeau FieldPackers–Vikings rivalry
6October 12Miami Dolphins21–28Jacksonville JaguarsAlltel Stadium
7October 19New York Jets24–14New England PatriotsFoxboro StadiumJets–Patriots rivalry
8October 26Pittsburgh Steelers20–13Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead Stadium
9November 2Dallas Cowboys34–0Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumCowboys–Eagles rivalry
10November 9Green Bay Packers20–27Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium
11November 16Denver Broncos30–7Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead StadiumBroncos–Chiefs rivalry
1997 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
12November 23Miami Dolphins23–26New England PatriotsFoxboro StadiumDolphins–Patriots rivalry
1997 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
13November 30New York Giants7–31San Francisco 49ers3Com Park49ers–Giants rivalry
14December 7Green Bay Packers22–24Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium1997 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
15December 14Detroit Lions13–34San Francisco 49ers3Com Park
16December 21Denver Broncos21–31Miami DolphinsPro Player Stadium
17December 28Pittsburgh Steelers3–20Jacksonville JaguarsAlltel StadiumJAX Win: Clinch No. 2 Seed With NYJ Loss
Wild Card Saturday January 2Buffalo Bills17–24Miami DolphinsPro Player StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
AFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
Arizona Cardinals20–7Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumNFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
1999 Pro BowlFebruary 7NFC10–23AFCAloha Stadium

1999 NFL season

The September 20 game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons, marked Wide Receiver Michael Irvin's final appearance at Monday Night Football.

The September 27 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals is remembered for Aeneas Williams' knockdown of Steve Young that resulted in a career-ending concussion.

The October 25 game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Pittsburgh Steelers was the last Monday night game played at Three Rivers Stadium.

Two days after the November 22 game between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos, the world's first computer-animated sequel, Toy Story 2 was released by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios.

The December 27 game between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins, marked Quarterback Dan Marino's final appearance at Monday Night Football.

The AFC wild card game on January 8 is remembered for a lateral on a kickoff return that gave the Tennessee Titans the win against the Buffalo Bills. It is called the Music City Miracle.

Super Bowl XXXIV came down to the final play – Kevin Dyson of the Tennessee Titans was stopped just short of the end zone, preserving the victory for the St. Louis Rams.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 13Miami Dolphins38–21Denver BroncosMile High Stadium1998 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
2September 20Atlanta Falcons7–24Dallas CowboysTexas Stadium
3September 27San Francisco 49ers24–10Arizona CardinalsSun Devil Stadium49ers–Cardinals rivalry
4October 4Buffalo Bills23–18Miami DolphinsPro Player StadiumBills–Dolphins rivalry
1998 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
5October 11Jacksonville Jaguars16–6New York JetsGiants Stadium1998 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
6October 18Dallas Cowboys10–13New York GiantsGiants StadiumCowboys–Giants rivalry
7October 25Atlanta Falcons9–13Pittsburgh SteelersThree Rivers Stadium
8November 1Seattle Seahawks27–7Green Bay PackersLambeau FieldPackers–Seahawks rivalry
9November 8Dallas Cowboys17–27Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeCowboys–Vikings rivalry
10November 15New York Jets24–17New England PatriotsFoxboro StadiumJets–Patriots rivalry
11November 22Oakland Raiders21–27Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
12November 29Green Bay Packers20–3San Francisco 49ers3Com Park1998 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
13December 6Minnesota Vikings17–24Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium
14December 13Denver Broncos24–27Jacksonville JaguarsAlltel Stadium
15December 20Green Bay Packers20–24Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey MetrodomePackers–Vikings rivalry
16December 27New York Jets38–31Miami DolphinsPro Player StadiumDolphins–Jets rivalry
17January 3San Francisco 49ers29–34Atlanta FalconsGeorgia Dome1998 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
Wild Card Saturday January 8Buffalo Bills16–22Tennessee TitansAdelphia ColiseumAFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
Music City Miracle
Detroit Lions13–27Washington RedskinsJack Kent Cooke StadiumNFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
Super Bowl XXXIVJanuary 30St. Louis Rams23–16Tennessee TitansGeorgia DomeNFC No. 1 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
2000 Pro BowlFebruary 6NFC51–31AFCAloha Stadium

2000s

2000 NFL season

The September 4 game marked the first MNF appearance for the previous season's Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams since moving from Los Angeles in 1995, and the first MNF game in St. Louis in fourteen years.

The week after that, the New York Jets hosted the New England Patriots – one full year before the September 11 attacks devastated New York City, among other places.

The September 18 game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins marked quarterback Troy Aikman's final appearance on Monday Night Football.

The September 25 game marked Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning's debut on Monday Night Football.

The October 16 game was the first actual Monday night game in Nashville, making the Hank Williams Jr. opening theme even more appropriate as Nashville is a hotbed for country music, which Willams plays. This was also the first MNF game for the Tennessee Titans since their move from Houston to Tennessee in 1997, at which time they were still known as the Oilers (they were renamed as the Titans in 1999).

The October 23 game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets featured "The Monday Night Miracle", when Vinny Testaverde led the Jets to 30 points in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. John Hall kicked the game-winning field goal, finishing the second-biggest comeback in NFL history.

In overtime of the November 6 game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers, Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman slipped on the wet grass, while Vikings cornerback Cris Dishman deflected the pass at the 20-yard line. The ball bounced off Freeman's shoulder, he rolled over, and it fell into his chest and right hand without touching the ground. While Dishman agonized over what he thought should have been an interception, Freeman stood up and ran for the end zone, scoring the game-winning touchdown. The play was replayed and allowed. Al Michaels was quoted as saying in reaction to the game-winning play: "He did WHAT?"

The November 13 game between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos was the last Monday Night Football game played at Mile High Stadium.

The December 4 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots at New England was the first Monday Night Football telecast at an outdoor Northern stadium after Thanksgiving. Previously, late-season prime time games were reserved for stadiums in the South or West Coast, or domed stadiums. Cold weather prime time telecasts became routine in later years and this was the final Monday Night Football game at Foxboro Stadium.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHome TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 4Denver Broncos36–41St. Louis RamsTrans World DomeLast two Super Bowl Champions
2September 11New England Patriots19–20New York JetsGiants StadiumJets–Patriots rivalry
3September 18Dallas Cowboys27–21Washington RedskinsFedExFieldCowboys–Redskins rivalry
4September 25Jacksonville Jaguars14–43Indianapolis ColtsRCA Dome
5October 2Seattle Seahawks17–24Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead Stadium
6October 9Tampa Bay Buccaneers23–30Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
7October 16Jacksonville Jaguars13–27Tennessee TitansAdelphia ColiseumJaguars–Titans rivalry
1999 AFC Championship Game rematch
8October 23Miami Dolphins37–40New York JetsGiants StadiumDolphins–Jets rivalry
Monday Night Miracle
9October 30Tennessee Titans27–21Washington RedskinsFedExField
10November 6Minnesota Vikings20–26Green Bay PackersLambeau FieldPackers–Vikings rivalry
11November 13Oakland Raiders24–27Denver BroncosMile High StadiumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
12November 20Washington Redskins33–20St. Louis RamsTrans World Dome
13November 27Green Bay Packers14–31Carolina PanthersEricsson Stadium
14December 4Kansas City Chiefs24–30New England PatriotsFoxboro Stadium
15December 11Buffalo Bills20–44Indianapolis ColtsRCA Dome
16December 18St. Louis Rams35–38Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium1999 NFC Championship Game rematch
17December 25Dallas Cowboys0–31Tennessee TitansAdelphia ColiseumTEN win: AFC Central Champions, clinch AFC No. 1 seed
TEN loss: BAL AFC Central Champions, clinch No. 1 seed. TEN AFC No. 4 seeded Wild Card
Wild Card SaturdayDecember 30Indianapolis Colts17–23Miami DolphinsPro Player StadiumAFC No. 6 vs. AFC No. 3 matchup
St. Louis Rams28–31New Orleans SaintsLouisiana SuperdomeNFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
2001 Pro BowlFebruary 4NFC17–38AFCAloha Stadium

2001 NFL season

The September 17 game between the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens (what would have been the Ravens' first appearance on Monday Night Football and the first Monday night game to take place in the city of Baltimore since 1978) was rescheduled to January 7 as the entire slate of week 2 games were postponed after the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center and The Pentagon.

Coincidentally, the New York Giants played the Denver Broncos in the last game prior to the September 11 attacks, and that game was credited for saving lives since it ended after midnight in New York City.

The September 24 game was not only the first Monday Night Football game since the attacks, it was also a rematch of one of the most significant games in the program's history; a game between the Washington Redskins and the Green Bay Packers. 18 years before at Lambeau Field, the Redskins and Packers combined for 95 points, more than any other Monday night game before or since (the Packers won 48–47, on a last second Jan Stenerud field goal).

The October 1 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets was the first Monday night game in the New York City metropolitan area since the attacks. A tribute to the rescue workers at the World Trade Center site was held before the game.

The October 8 game between the St. Louis Rams and the Detroit Lions was the last Monday Night Football game at the Pontiac Silverdome, also the last Monday Night Football game in Detroit until 2011.

The October 15 game between the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys, marked running back Emmitt Smith's final appearance on Monday Night Football.

The October 22 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants marked Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb's Monday Night Football debut.

The October 29 game between the Tennessee Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers was the first Monday Night Football game ever played at Heinz Field.

Denver Broncos kicker Jason Elam recorded the 20,000th point scored in Monday Night Football history when he kicked a field goal in the Broncos' 38–28 loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Due to Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve falling on Mondays in 2001, the NFL did not schedule games for those days. Instead, ABC aired Saturday night games on those weekends. The former weekend also had games on CBS and Fox that Saturday, marking one of the few times (until 2006) that three different over-the-air networks aired NFL games on the same day. In future seasons when Christmas Eve fell on a Monday, the matchup would feature two teams on the west coast.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 10New York Giants20–31Denver BroncosInvesco Field at Mile High
3September 24Washington Redskins0–37Green Bay PackersLambeau Field
4October 1San Francisco 49ers19–17New York JetsGiants Stadium
5October 8St. Louis Rams35–0Detroit LionsPontiac Silverdome
6October 15Washington Redskins7–9Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
7October 22Philadelphia Eagles10–9New York GiantsGiants StadiumEagles–Giants rivalry
2000 NFC Divisional playoff rematch
8October 29Tennessee Titans7–34Pittsburgh SteelersHeinz FieldSteelers–Titans rivalry
9November 5Denver Broncos28–38Oakland RaidersNetwork Associates ColiseumBroncos–Raiders rivalry
10November 12Baltimore Ravens16–10Tennessee TitansAdelphia ColiseumRavens–Titans rivalry
2000 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
11November 19New York Giants16–28Minnesota VikingsHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome2000 NFC Championship Game rematch
12November 26Tampa Bay Buccaneers24–17St. Louis RamsEdward Jones Dome
13December 3Green Bay Packers28–21Jacksonville JaguarsAlltel Stadium
14December 10Indianapolis Colts6–41Miami DolphinsPro Player Stadium2000 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
15December 17St. Louis Rams34–21New Orleans SaintsLouisiana Superdome2000 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
16December 22Tennessee Titans13–10Oakland RaidersNetwork Associates Coliseum
17December 29Baltimore Ravens10–22Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium
18January 7Minnesota Vikings3–19Baltimore RavensPSINet StadiumBAL win: AFC No. 5 seeded Wild Card, NYJ AFC No. 6 seeded Wild Card, SEA eliminated
BAL loss: NYJ AFC No. 5 seeded Wild Card, SEA AFC No. 6 seeded Wild Card, BAL eliminated
Wild Card SaturdayJanuary 12Tampa Bay Buccaneers9–31Philadelphia EaglesVeterans Stadium2000 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
NFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
New York Jets24–38Oakland RaidersNetwork Associates ColiseumAFC No. 6 vs. AFC No. 3 matchup
2002 Pro BowlFebruary 9AFC38–30NFCAloha Stadium

2002 NFL season

The September 9 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots marked quarterback Tom Brady's Monday Night Football debut. It was also the first game played at Gillette Stadium.

During the October 14 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, wide receiver Terrell Owens pulled out a Sharpie following a touchdown and autographed the football. Also was the first Monday Night Football game at Seahawks Stadium and the first Monday Night Football game in Seattle since 1992.

At halftime of the October 28 game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles, the last of the fourteen clues from the ABC television series Push, Nevada was revealed. By taking the appropriate letters (5th, 1st, 9th, 1st, 5th, 7th, 4th, 1st, 2nd, 7th, 5th, and 2nd) from twelve of those clues, the world "VONGEYELNAIL" was formed. Replacing the 5th, 6th, and 7th letters in the word would change it to "VONGILNAIL", translating it into the phone number 1 (866) 445-6245. The first person to call that number, Mark Nakamoto, won the grand prize of $1,045,000. It was also the final Monday Night Football game played at Veterans Stadium.

The November 11 game between the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos marked the 500th Monday Night Football game. In commemoration, ABC used various themes and images of varied opens during commercial bumpers.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 9Pittsburgh Steelers14–30New England PatriotsGillette StadiumPatriots–Steelers rivalry
2001 AFC Championship Game rematch
2September 16Philadelphia Eagles37–7Washington RedskinsFedExFieldEagles–Redskins rivalry
3September 23St. Louis Rams14–26Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium
4September 30Denver Broncos23–34Baltimore RavensM&T Bank Stadium
5October 7Green Bay Packers34–21Chicago BearsMemorial StadiumBears–Packers rivalry
6October 14San Francisco 49ers28–21Seattle SeahawksSeahawks Stadium49ers–Seahawks rivalry
7October 21Indianapolis Colts10–28Pittsburgh SteelersHeinz Field
8October 28New York Giants3–17Philadelphia EaglesVeterans StadiumEagles–Giants rivalry
9November 4Miami Dolphins10–24Green Bay PackersLambeau Field
10November 11Oakland Raiders34–10Denver BroncosInvesco Field at Mile HighBroncos–Raiders rivalry
11November 18Chicago Bears16–21St. Louis RamsEdward Jones Dome
12November 25Philadelphia Eagles38–17San Francisco 49ers3Com Park
13December 2New York Jets20–26Oakland RaidersNetwork Associates Coliseum2001 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch
14December 9Chicago Bears9–27Miami DolphinsPro Player Stadium
15December 16New England Patriots7–24Tennessee TitansAdelphia Coliseum
16December 23Pittsburgh Steelers17–7Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium
17December 30San Francisco 49ers20–31St. Louis RamsEdward Jones Dome49ers–Rams rivalry
Wild Card SaturdayJanuary 4Indianapolis Colts0–41New York JetsGiants StadiumAFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
Atlanta Falcons27–7Green Bay PackersLambeau FieldNFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
Super Bowl XXXVIIJanuary 26Oakland Raiders21–48Tampa Bay BuccaneersQualcomm StadiumAFC No. 1 vs. NFC No. 2 matchup
2003 Pro BowlFebruary 4NFC20–45AFCAloha Stadium

2003 NFL season

Under a new NFL policy, the NFL officially adopted a Thursday night game to open the season (something that was done for the first time the previous season), and no Monday night game in Week 17. The change was designed to maximize opportunities for scheduling between Week 17 and the opening week of the playoffs; in this way, no team could be disadvantaged by potentially having only four days between their final regular season game and a playoff game. Also, the ratings for the last game of the regular season were often low, and the game usually had no playoff meaning (the most likely reason for the scheduling move). To compensate for losing the opening night game (which was successful enough to be upgraded from cable to network television after only one year), ESPN got the Week 17 game that used to be on Monday Night, and aired it on Saturday.

The season saw two improbable comebacks occur. The New York Giants led their game with the Dallas Cowboys 32–29 with 10 seconds left. An out-of-bounds kickoff allowed the Cowboys to quickly get into field goal position and force overtime. The Cowboys' Billy Cundiff tied an NFL record with seven field goals as the Cowboys won 35–32. Three weeks later, the Indianapolis Colts trailed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35–14 with 3:43 remaining. They scored three touchdowns in the closing minutes and won 38–35 in overtime after an unsportsmanlike "leaping" call negated a field goal miss by the Colts. Ironically, Simeon Rice, the player charged with "leaping", would later play for the Colts in 2007.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Philadelphia Eagles game was the very first regular season game at Lincoln Financial Field, the third straight year that Monday Night Football opened with a stadium's first ever regular season game (following Invesco Field at Mile High in 2001 and Gillette Stadium in 2002).

The Green Bay PackersChicago Bears game was the first played at newly renovated Soldier Field in 20 months, since a divisional playoff game on January 19, 2002, when the Chicago Bears lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bears played their 2002 season in Champaign, Illinois.

The Miami Dolphins - San Diego Chargers game was played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona because the Cedar Fire in California forced evacuees to Qualcomm Stadium. Ironically, this was supposed to be the homecoming for former Chargers linebacker Junior Seau, who was playing for the Dolphins at the time.

All AFC West teams appeared on the program in a span of three weeks: the Kansas City Chiefs played at the Oakland Raiders on October 20, the aforementioned Miami Dolphins-San Diego Chargers game, and the New England Patriots-Denver Broncos game on November 3. It was the first time since the realignment that MNF featured all of a division's teams in a 3-week span.

The Green Bay Packers - Oakland Raiders game was played the day after the death of the father of quarterback Brett Favre. In an inspiring performance, Favre threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns in the Packers' rout.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 4New York Jets13–16Washington RedskinsFedExFieldNFL Kickoff Game, Thursday game.
September 8Tampa Bay Buccaneers17–0Philadelphia EaglesLincoln Financial Field2002 NFC Championship Game rematch
2September 15Dallas Cowboys35–32New York GiantsGiants StadiumCowboys–Giants rivalry
3September 22Oakland Raiders10–31Denver BroncosInvesco Field at Mile HighBroncos–Raiders rivalry
4September 29Green Bay Packers38–23Chicago BearsSoldier FieldBears–Packers rivalry
5October 6Indianapolis Colts38–35Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium
6October 13Atlanta Falcons0–36St. Louis RamsEdward Jones Dome
7October 20Kansas City Chiefs17–10Oakland RaidersMcAfee ColiseumChiefs–Raiders rivalry
8October 27Miami Dolphins26–10San Diego ChargersSun Devil Stadium
9November 3New England Patriots30–26Denver BroncosInvesco Field at Mile HighBroncos–Patriots rivalry
10November 10Philadelphia Eagles17–14Green Bay PackersLambeau Field
11November 17Pittsburgh Steelers14–30San Francisco 49ers3Com Park
12November 24New York Giants13–19Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James Stadium
13December 1Tennessee Titans17–24New York JetsGiants Stadium
14December 8St. Louis Rams26–20Cleveland BrownsCleveland Browns Stadium
15December 15Philadelphia Eagles34–27Miami DolphinsPro Player Stadium
16December 22Green Bay Packers41–7Oakland RaidersMcAfee Coliseum
Wild Card Saturday January 3Tennessee Titans20–17Baltimore RavensM&T Bank StadiumRavens–Titans rivalry
AFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
Dallas Cowboys10–29Carolina PanthersEricsson StadiumNFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup

2004 NFL season

The Philadelphia Eagles - Dallas Cowboys game drew controversy when ABC aired a risqué pregame skit featuring Eagles receiver Terrell Owens and Desperate Housewives actress Nicollette Sheridan. Owens caught three touchdowns in the game.

The Cincinnati Bengals played their first MNF game since 1992.

The Miami Dolphins pulled off a classic upset over the New England Patriots on December 20. Trailing 17–28 with 3:59 left, the Dolphins drove 68 yards to score on Sammy Morris' 1-yard run with 2:07 remaining, and then on a third down play, Tom Brady threw as he was being sacked by Jason Taylor. The ill-advised, off-balance pass sailed directly to linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, giving Miami a first down at the Patriots' 21 with 1:45 to go. Three plays later, A. J. Feeley threw for the game-winning score, a 21-yard pass to Derrius Thompson on fourth-and-10 with 1:23 left. The Dolphins wore orange jerseys for only the second time in team history.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 9Indianapolis Colts24–27New England PatriotsGillette StadiumColts–Patriots rivalry
Tom Brady–Peyton Manning rivalry
2003 AFC Championship Game rematch, NFL Kickoff Game, Thursday game.
September 13Green Bay Packers24–14Carolina PanthersBank of America Stadium
2September 20Minnesota Vikings16–27Philadelphia EaglesLincoln Financial Field
3September 27Dallas Cowboys21–18Washington RedskinsFedExFieldCowboys–Redskins rivalry
4October 4Kansas City Chiefs27–24Baltimore RavensM&T Bank Stadium
5October 11Tennessee Titans48–27Green Bay PackersLambeau Field
6October 18Tampa Bay Buccaneers21–28St. Louis RamsEdward Jones Dome
7October 25Denver Broncos10–23Cincinnati BengalsPaul Brown Stadium
8November 1Miami Dolphins14–41New York JetsGiants StadiumDolphins–Jets rivalry
9November 8Minnesota Vikings28–31Indianapolis ColtsRCA Dome
10November 15Philadelphia Eagles49–21Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Eagles rivalry
11November 22New England Patriots27–19Kansas City ChiefsArrowhead Stadium
12November 29St. Louis Rams17–45Green Bay PackersLambeau Field
13December 6Dallas Cowboys43–39Seattle SeahawksQwest Field
14December 13Kansas City Chiefs49–38Tennessee TitansAdelphia Coliseum
15December 20New England Patriots28–29Miami DolphinsPro Player StadiumDolphins–Patriots rivalry
16December 27Philadelphia Eagles7–20St. Louis RamsEdward Jones Dome
Wild Card SaturdayJanuary 8St. Louis Rams27–20Seattle SeahawksQwest FieldNFC No. 5 vs. NFC No. 4 matchup
New York Jets20–17San Diego ChargersQualcomm StadiumAFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup

2005 NFL season

This marked the final season for Monday Night Football on ABC.[11] An impromptu doubleheader was scheduled on September 19 when the New Orleans Saints scheduled Sunday home opener with the New York Giants was rescheduled due to Hurricane Katrina's extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome. The game was moved to the Giants' home field at Giants Stadium for Monday night with a special start time of 7:30 P.M. EDT, though the Giants were still the road team. (Usually, the only time the Giants are the road team in their own stadium is when they play the New York Jets.) ABC held a telethon to raise money for victims of the hurricane during the broadcast. At 9 P.M., ABC viewers outside New York and New Orleans moved to the Washington Redskins-Dallas Cowboys game, while the Giants-Saints game aired on ESPN (the inverse was true for the New York and New Orleans markets). This could be considered the pilot episode of the ESPN series as well. When the Giants-Saints game was over, the New York and New Orleans markets were switched to the Redskins-Cowboys for the conclusion of that game.[12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

The September 12 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons featured Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's debut on Monday Night Football.

The October 10 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Diego Chargers marked Ben Roethlisberger's Monday Night Football debut.

The record for largest Monday night victory was tied and later broken during the season. The Seattle Seahawks' 42–0 win over the Philadelphia Eagles tied the record set in the Miami Dolphins' 45–3 victory over the New York Jets in 1986. Two weeks later, the Baltimore Ravens bested the margin in their win over the Green Bay Packers, crushing them 48–3. The Seahawks' win over Philadelphia was in the midst of a bad season for the Eagles and ended up leading to NBC getting flexible scheduling built into its Sunday Night Football schedules.

The Atlanta Falcons became the first team to win three home games on Monday night, beating the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints. The final Monday Night Football game on ABC saw the New England Patriots beat the Jets 31–21; this was the same score the Jets were defeated by in the very first Monday Night Football telecast, when they played the Cleveland Browns. Also this marked the final Monday Night Football game at Giants Stadium.

ABC's final NFL broadcast until 2016, Super Bowl XL between the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers, was plagued by controversial calls made by officials. The calls later reviewed by the NFL were all found to have merit; therefore not changing the outcome of the game. Had the Seahawks won, they would have been one of a handful of teams to beat both Pennsylvania-based NFL teams on ABC in the same season.

WeekDateVisiting TeamFinal ScoreHost TeamStadiumSignificance
1September 8Oakland Raiders20–30New England PatriotsGillette StadiumNFL Kickoff Game, Thursday game
September 12Philadelphia Eagles10–14Atlanta FalconsGeorgia Dome2004 NFC Championship Game rematch
2September 19New York Giants27–10New Orleans SaintsGiants Stadium
Washington Redskins14–13Dallas CowboysTexas StadiumCowboys–Redskins rivalry
3September 26Kansas City Chiefs10–30Denver BroncosInvesco Field at Mile HighBroncos–Chiefs rivalry
4October 3Green Bay Packers29–32Carolina PanthersBank of America Stadium
5October 10Pittsburgh Steelers24–22San Diego ChargersQualcomm Stadium
6October 17St. Louis Rams28–45Indianapolis ColtsRCA Dome
7October 24New York Jets14–27Atlanta FalconsGeorgia Dome
8October 31Baltimore Ravens19–20Pittsburgh SteelersHeinz FieldRavens–Steelers rivalry
9November 7Indianapolis Colts40–21New England PatriotsGillette StadiumColts–Patriots rivalry
Tom Brady–Peyton Manning rivalry
2004 AFC Divisional playoff rematch
10November 14Dallas Cowboys21–20Philadelphia EaglesLincoln Financial FieldCowboys–Eagles rivalry
11November 21Minnesota Vikings20–17Green Bay PackersLambeau FieldPackers–Vikings rivalry
2004 NFC Wild Card playoff rematch
12November 28Pittsburgh Steelers7–26Indianapolis ColtsRCA Dome
13December 5Seattle Seahawks42–0Philadelphia EaglesLincoln Financial Field
14December 12New Orleans Saints17–36Atlanta FalconsGeorgia DomeFalcons–Saints rivalry
15December 19Green Bay Packers3–48Baltimore RavensM&T Bank Stadium
16December 26New England Patriots31–21New York JetsGiants StadiumJets–Patriots rivalry
Wild Card SaturdayJanuary 7Washington Redskins17–10Tampa Bay BuccaneersRaymond James StadiumNFC No. 6 vs. NFC No. 3 matchup
Jacksonville Jaguars3–28New England PatriotsGillette StadiumAFC No. 5 vs. AFC No. 4 matchup
Super Bowl XLFebruary 5Seattle Seahawks10–21Pittsburgh SteelersFord FieldNFC No. 1 vs. AFC No. 6 matchup

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: How Howard Cosell helped bring nachos to the world. November 13, 2013.
  2. Web site: Archives. Los Angeles Times. December 8, 1986 .
  3. Web site: Mitchell . Fred . Fred B. Mitchell . Sherman . Ed . 1987-10-21 . If the Minnesota Vikings-Denver Broncos NFL game... . 2024-01-04 . Chicago Tribune.
  4. http://www.kcchiefs.com/media/misc/year_by_year.pdf Kansas City Chiefs
  5. http://www.joycetice.com/articles/1892foot.htm Mansfield, Pennsylvania – It happened one night – First Football under lights – Mansfield PA 1892
  6. Web site: Chicago Bears at Philadelphia Eagles - September 12th, 1994. Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  7. Web site: Man catches extra point: The Mike Pantazis story. 7 November 2014.
  8. Web site: - YouTube. YouTube.
  9. Web site: Archives . L. A. Times . 1997-10-26 . Bears-Dolphins on Monday Too . 2024-01-04 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  10. News: Associated Press . 1997-10-27 . N.F.L. WEEK 9; Bears-Dolphins Postponed . en-US . The New York Times . 2024-01-04 . 0362-4331.
  11. Book: Miller, Shales, James Andrew, Tom. Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN. 564.
  12. Web site: Dempsey . John . 2005-09-06 . 'MNF' will air Saints game . 2024-01-04 . Variety . en-US.
  13. Web site: 2005-09-05 . Saints-Giants to start before MNF on Sept. 19 . 2024-01-04 . ESPN.com . en.
  14. Web site: Schwartz . Paul . 2005-09-06 . SAINTS GAME SEPT. 19 . 2024-01-04 . en-US.
  15. Web site: By . 2005-09-06 . GIANTS HOST SAINTS SEPT. 19 . 2024-01-04 . Hartford Courant . en-US.
  16. News: Battista . Judy . 2005-09-06 . Saints to Play Relocated Game Against Giants on a Monday . en-US . The New York Times . 2024-01-04 . 0362-4331.