Monday Night Football results (1990-present)
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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 1970-2005, 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 1990 to the most recent season.
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[edit] 1990s
[edit] 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."
[edit] 1991 NFL season
[edit] 1992 NFL season
The December 28 game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers was the game in which Joe Montana took his final snap as a 49er. He was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs during the off season.
[edit] 1993 NFL season
During the January 3 game, the 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 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.
[edit] 1994 NFL season
In the September 5 game, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice broke Jim Brown's touchdown record.
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.
[edit] 1995 NFL season
In the September 11 game, Packers quarterback Brett Favre threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Robert Brooks. It was the eighth 99-yard touchdown pass in NFL history.
In the October 9 game, Chiefs kick returner Tamarick Vanover returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown to win the game for the Chiefs.
The November 13 game between the Browns and Steelers was played one week after Browns owner Art Modell announced that he would be moving the team to Baltimore for the 1996 season.
[edit] 1996 NFL season
[edit] 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 tried a field goal. Jacksonville blocked it and Chris Hudson returned it the other way for a touchdown. The extra point was finally kicked about 15 minutes after ABC signed off.
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). 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.
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.
[edit] 1998 NFL season
[edit] 1999 NFL season
[edit] 2000s
[edit] 2000 NFL season
The October 23 game between the Dolphins and the Jets featured the "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 Vikings and the 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 call on the game-winning play: "He did WHAT????"
[edit] 2001 NFL season
The September 17 game between the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens (what would have been the Ravens' first appearance on MNF) was rescheduled to January 7 as the entire slate of week 2 games was postponed after the September 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and The Pentagon.
Denver Broncos kicker Jason Elam recorded the 20,000th point scored in MNF 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.
[edit] 2002 NFL season
[edit] 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, ESPN got the Week 17 game that previously was on Monday Night, and aired it on Saturday.
The season saw two improbable comebacks occur. The Giants led their game with the Cowboys 32-29 with ten seconds left. An out-of-bounds kickoff allowed Dallas to quickly get into field goal position and force overtime. Dallas' Billy Cundiff tied an NFL record with seven field goals. Three weeks later, Indianapolis trailed Tampa Bay 35-14 with 3:43 remaining. They scored three touchdowns in the closing minutes and won in overtime after an unsportsmanlike "leaping" call negated a field goal miss by the Colts.
The Dolphins-Chargers game was played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona because the Cedar Fire in California forced evacuees to Qualcomm Stadium.
The Packers-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.
[edit] 2004 NFL season
The Eagles-Cowboys game drew controversy when ABC aired a risqué pregame skit featuring Eagles receiver Terrell Owens and Desperate Housewives actress Nicolette Sheridan. Owens caught three touchdowns in the game.
The Miami Dolphins pulled off a classic upset over the New England Patriots on December 13. 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.
[edit] 2005 NFL season
This marked the final season for Monday Night Football on ABC. 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 (though the Giants were still the road team) for Monday night with a special start time of 7:30 PM EDT. ABC held a telethon to raise money for victims of the hurricane during the broadcast.
The record for largest Monday Night victory was tied and later broken during the season. The Seattle Seahawks 42-0 win over Philadelphia 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 Atlanta Falcons became the first team to win three home games on Monday night, beating the Eagles, Jets, and 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 MNF telecast, when they played the Cleveland Browns.
[edit] 2006 NFL season
This marked the first season of Monday night games broadcast on ESPN. The season began with the first-ever scheduled Monday night doubleheader. September 25 saw the New Orleans Saints return to the Louisiana Superdome for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. The game was preceded by musical performances by the Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, and U2. The October 16 game between the Giants and Cowboys became the highest-rated program in the history of cable television, being watched by over 16 million people.[1]
[edit] U.S. television ratings
Viewer numbers (based on average total viewers per episode) of Monday Night Football on ESPN. All times Eastern.
With the exception of the September 11, 2006 Chargers-Raiders game, Monday Night Football has been the most-watched program on cable until the premiere of High School Musical 2 which had 17 million viewers, breaking Monday Night Football's record of 16 million. The "It would have ranked..." column indicates what Monday Night Football would have ranked in the respective weekly viewer rankings, if it were ranked among the programs that aired on the main broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CW).
According to ESPN.com news services, "ESPN's telecast of the New York Giants' 36-22 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, October 23, 2006 was viewed by the largest audience in cable history.
The game, featuring two of the NFL's biggest rivals, was seen in an average of 11,807,000 homes, based on a 12.8 rating. That translates to 16,028,000 viewers (a cable ratings point represents 923,000 households).
The previous record for cable television was the debate over NAFTA in November 1993, between then-vice president Al Gore and Ross Perot, [which aired on CNN's Larry King Live]."[1]
"We've never believed the acronyms NAFTA and MNF belonged in the same sentence, and we're thrilled to have established MNF as the home of cable's biggest audience ever," said Norby! Williamson, ESPN executive vice president for studio and remote production. "That fans have responded with the record is very rewarding and a vivid reminder of the power of Monday Night Football."[1]
The nine most-watched programs ever on ESPN (as well as being 9 of the top 10 most-watched programs ever on cable, excluding breaking news[1]) are:
- the aforementioned October 23 game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys (16.028 million viewers),[1]
- the September 25 game between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints (14.9 million viewers),[4]
- the October 16 game between the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals (14.23 million viewers),[7]
- the December 16 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts (14.22 million viewers),
- the September 18 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars (13.3 million viewers),[3]
- the October 2 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles (12.9 million viewers),[5]
- the November 27 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks (12.7 million viewers),
- the first ever Monday Night Football game on ESPN - the September 11 game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins (12.6 million viewers).[2]
- and, the October 9 game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Denver Broncos (12.5 million viewers),[6] which attracted more viewers, during the television week of October 9-15, 2006, than NBC's Sunday Night Football Raiders-Broncos matchup on October 15, 2006.[9]
[edit] 2007 NFL season
The November 26 Miami Dolphins-Pittsburgh Steelers game was the least productive game ever to be played in Monday Night Football's 38-year history; Steelers kicker Jeff Reed kicked the game winning field goal with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter as the Steelers won by a score of 3-0. The game was marred by a heavy thunderstorm which delayed kickoff for about 20 minutes and was compounded by the play of local high school football championships that preceding weekend, which left the field in less than desirable shape. That game also marked the return of Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter to Pittsburgh where he won a Super Bowl with the Steelers in 2006.
The December 3 New England Patriots-Baltimore Ravens game finished with 17.5 million viewers, topping the debut of corporate sibling Disney Channel's premiere of the High School Musical 2 movie as the highest-rated cable television program of all-time.
[edit] 2008 NFL season
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[edit] See also
- Monday Night Football results (1970-1989)
- NBC Sunday Night Football results (2006-present)
- NFL Network Run to the Playoffs results (2006-present)
[edit] References
- Total Football II,, Edited by Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft and John Thorn, Harper Collins Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-06-270174-6.
- ^ a b c d e f Giants-Cowboys draws largest cable audience. ESPN (October 25, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
- ^ a b c Crupi, Anthony. "NFL Coverage Lifts ESPN to Top", Mediaweek, September 19, 2006.
- ^ a b Crupi, Anthony. "Steelers vs. Jaguars Tops ESPN's Ratings", Mediaweek, September 19, 2006.
- ^ a b Consoli, John. "Saints Opener Draws ESPN's Largest Audience", Mediaweek, September 27, 2006.
- ^ a b Crupi, Anthony. "ESPN Beats TNT in Weekly Ratings", Mediaweek, October 10, 2006.
- ^ a b Crupi, Anthony. "MNF Lifts ESPN to Top of Cable Ratings Heap", Mediaweek, October 17, 2006.
- ^ a b Crupi, Anthony (October 24, 2006). Disney Beats ESPN to Lead Cable Ratings. Mediaweek. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
- ^ a b Crupi, Anthony (November 8, 2006). ESPN Leads the Cable Ratings Pack. Mediaweek. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ Berman, Marc (October 18, 2006). The Programming Insider. Mediaweek. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
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