Double the football, double the fun?
That seems to be the NFL’s approach to a few Monday nights this year. There are four weeks featuring a “Monday Night Football” doubleheader this regular season, continuing the scheduling quirk that has become the norm since 2022.
Why are there multiple Mondays with two games this season?
It’s the result of an 11-year media rights agreement the NFL finalized in March 2021. The deal, which included previously existing broadcast partners plus Amazon Prime Video, granted more content to Disney by increasing the number of games on ESPN and ABC from 17 to 23.
There was a MNF doubleheader in Week 2 of the 2022 season and four multi-game “Monday Night Football” weeks in 2023 (including the Christmas Day slate in Week 16 that carried three games).
Who’s playing?
The overlapping Monday night games begin tonight with the Jacksonville Jaguars taking on the Buffalo Bills at 7:30 p.m. ET and the Washington Commanders facing the Cincinnati Bengals at 8:15 p.m. ET.
In Week 4, the Tennessee Titans play the Miami Dolphins at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the Seattle Seahawks kick off against the Detroit Lions at 8:15 p.m. ET. These games fall on Sept. 30.
Week 7 brings a pair of late Monday games to the Oct. 21 slate. The Baltimore Ravens travel to Tampa Bay for an 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff against the Buccaneers, and the Los Angeles Chargers–Arizona Cardinals game follows at 9 p.m. ET.
The second half of the regular season includes only one Monday night that’s double booked. To wrap up Week 15, the Chicago Bears play the Minnesota Vikings at 8 p.m. ET while the Las Vegas Raiders host the Atlanta Falcons at 8:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 16.
How will the simultaneous broadcasts work?
For most of the overlapping MNF games, one matchup will air on ABC and ESPN+ while the other will be broadcast on ESPN. The Chargers-Cardinals game that caps Week 7 will stream exclusively on ESPN+.
(Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5788267/2024/09/23/monday-night-football-doubleheaders-espn/
