NFL
Why are there two Monday Night Football games this week?
NFL Week 15’s Monday Night Football features a doubleheader, as the Bears take on the Vikings and the Falcons face the Raiders.
Week 15 of the NFL regular season comes to a close tonight, when there will be not one, but two games played for Monday Night Football. To start the evening, the Chicago Bears face the Minnesota Vikings at US Bank Stadium, with an 8:00 p.m. ET kickoff. Just 30 minutes later, at 8:30 p.m. ET, the Las Vegas Raiders host the Atlanta Falcons at Allegiant Stadium in the second Monday night matchup.
Why are there two Monday Night Football games tonight?
Tonight’s MNF doubleheader is the last of four in the 2024-25 NFL season. MNF has been a staple of the NFL since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. At that time, it was only ABC which had the rights to televise Monday’s action and there was only one MNF game per week, while NBC and CBS broadcast the Sunday games.
From 1987 until 2006, ESPN took over the rights for Sunday Night Football. In 2006, ESPN acquired the rights for Monday Night Football in an eight-year deal and NBC took over Sunday Night Football. During those years, ESPN would broadcast 17 MNF games at 8:30 p.m. ET. and the very first MNF doubleheader was aired on September 11, 2006. The idea was to have one game on the East Coast and one on the West Coast, so in the first, the Washington Redskins hosted the Minnesota Vikings and the Oakland Raiders played the San Diego Chargers.
In 2021, ESPN, the Walt Disney Company, and the NFL signed a 10-year deal that would start in September 2023 and would increase MNF games from 17 to 23. So it’s only within the last year that ESPN has begun to broadcast MNF games on an overlapping time schedule. In 2023, there were three MNF doubleheaders, including two games in December which kicked off at the same time.
2024 NFL Monday Night Football doubleheaders
- Week 3 (September 23):
- 7:30 p.m. ET - Jacksonville Jaguars vs Buffalo Bills
- 8:15 p.m. ET - Washington Commanders vs Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 4 (September 30):
- 7:30 p.m. ET - Tennessee Titans vs Miami Dolphins
- 8:15 p.m. ET - Seattle Seahawks vs Detroit Lions
- Week 7 (October 21):
- 8:15 p.m. ET - Baltimore Ravens vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 9:00 p.m. ET - Los Angeles Chargers vs Arizona Cardinals
- Week 15 (December 16):
- 8:00 p.m. ET - Chicago Bears vs Minnesota Vikings
- 8:30 p.m. ET Atlanta Falcons vs Las Vegas Raiders
Week 15 MNF: how to watch and stream
Viewers in the US will be able be able to watch the Bears vs the Vikings live on ABC and ESPN+, while the Falcons vs the Raiders will be aired on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. If you don’t have cable, you can stream ABC and ESPN on the online service fubo, which offers new users a free trial.
You’ll also be able to follow AS USA’s live-text coverage of both Week 15 MNF games.
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