If you still need your sports fix, and the recent re-launch of ESPN 8, The Ocho, hasn’t quite fulfilled it, we have one question for you: Are you ready for some classic football? ESPN is ready to re-air classic Monday Night Football games from the past 15 years.
What’s Happening:
- ESPN will re-air iconic Monday Night Football games from the past 15 years every Monday night at 8 p.m. ET for the next five weeks, March 30 – April 27. These games reflect efforts by ESPN and the NFL to deliver fans some of their favorite sports moments as a small but welcomed distraction in the middle of a difficult and unprecedented time. The Monday Night Football Classics series will showcase legendary National Football League players and current stars, popular franchises and a handful of the most memorable games in the 50-year history of sports television’s signature series. These games will also include inventory to support COVID-19 relief-focused organizations.
- The highest-scoring game in MNF history – a 54-51 shootout from November 2018, featuring Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs against Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams – will be the first featured game this Monday. Other matchups include the New Orleans Saints’ Superdome reopening game after Hurricane Katrina in 2006 (April 6), Brett Favre’s first game against the Green Bay Packers in 2009 (April 13), and an improbable Dallas Cowboys road win over the Buffalo Bills in 2007 (April 27).
- Four of the five Monday Night Classics are ESPN telecasts since 2006. The series will also feature ABC’s Colts-Patriots game from 2005 when Peyton Manning won for the first time in Foxborough against Tom Brady and New England (April 20).
- An hour of Peyton’s Places episodes will precede Monday Night Football Classics each week at 7 p.m. The Sports Emmy-nominated 30-episode original series produced by NFL Films and ESPN+ revisits seminal moments in NFL history through Peyton Manning’s conversations with current and former players, coaches and other key figures about football history and its cultural impact. (All 30 original episodes of Peyton’s Places continue to be available exclusively on ESPN+.)
- In addition to the schedule of Monday Night Football Classics, ESPN will continue to announce programming updates via @ESPNPR
- Monday Night Football Classics on ESPN (March 30 – April 27) will include:
- March 30th, 8:00 PM: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Rams from November 19, 2018
- The Rams defeated the Chiefs 54-51 in the highest-scoring game in MNF history as Patrick Mahomes set a MNF record with six touchdown passes. Originally scheduled for Mexico City, the game was played at the LA Coliseum – the first Monday night game in Los Angeles since 1985.
- Commentators: Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland, Lisa Salters
- April 6th. 8:00 PM: Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints from September 25, 2006
- Steve Gleason’s blocked punt returned for a touchdown in the first quarter keyed a 23-3 Saints win over the rival Falcons the night the Louisiana Superdome reopened a year after Hurricane Katrina.
- Commentators: Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann, Tony Kornheiser, Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya
- April 13th, 8:00 PM: Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings from October 5, 2009
- Brett Favre played his first game against the Packers, throwing three touchdowns in a 30-23 Vikings win. The NFC North matchup is the most-viewed MNF game of the ESPN era with 21.8 million viewers.
- Commentators: Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden
- April 20th, 8:00 PM: Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots from November 7, 2005
- Previously 0-7 in Foxborough, Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes for the Colts in his first road win against Tom Brady and the Patriots in a 40-21 victory.
- Al Michaels, John Madden and Tafoya
- April 27th, 8:00 PM: Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills from October 8, 2007
- The Cowboys scored nine points in the final 20 seconds in an improbable 25-24 win in Buffalo despite six turnovers from Tony Romo.
- Commentators: Tirico, Jaworski, Kornheiser, Kolber and Tafoya
- March 30th, 8:00 PM: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Rams from November 19, 2018