List of Monday Night Football results (1990–2009)

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 2009.

Stadiums and teams appearing under different names
Some stadiums and teams had multiple names throughout their appearances in the MNF package in this era. All names listed were seen in the package at least once in this era.

First name listed is the current (or final if it does not exist anymore) name for each team and stadium.

Stadiums

 * Bank of America Stadium - Ericsson Stadium
 * Candlestick Park - 3Com Park, Monster Park
 * Edward Jones Dome - Trans World Dome
 * EverBank Field - Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
 * FedEx Field - Jack Kent Cooke Stadium
 * LP Field - Adelphia Coliseum, The Coliseum
 * M&T Bank Stadium - PSINet Stadium
 * Mall of America Field - Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (technically, Mall of America Field only applies to the football playing field, making the full name Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome)
 * O.co Coliseum - McAfee Coliseum, Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
 * Qualcomm Stadium - Jack Murphy Stadium
 * Qwest Field - Seahawks Stadium
 * Ralph Wilson Stadium - Rich Stadium
 * RCA Dome - Hoosier Dome
 * Sports Authority Field at Mile High - Invesco Field at Mile High
 * Sun Life Stadium - Joe Robbie Stadium, LandShark Stadium, Pro Player Stadium

Teams

 * Oakland Raiders - Los Angeles Raiders
 * St. Louis Rams - Los Angeles Rams
 * Tennessee Titans - Houston Oilers

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.

The December 31 game started at 8:00 PM EST rather than 9:00 PM EST to allow New Year's Rockin' Eve to air as normal.

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

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

1991 NFL season
The November 25 game was the last MNF game played in the Los Angeles area, as well as the last appearance for the Los Angeles Rams before moving to St. Louis in 1995.

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

1992 NFL season
Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

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. 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.

1993 NFL season
The September 6 game marked the first time in 10 years that the Redskins hosted the 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 Raiders and Broncos on MNF over an 11-year span, seven of these games being played in Denver.

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.

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

1994 NFL season
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.

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.

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.

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

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 cornerback Darien Conner intercepted a Troy Aikman pass and looked to be on his way to a breakaway touchdown. However, the 325-lb. Allen surprisingly ran Conner down from behind short of the end zone.

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

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.

Some portions of the December 25 Cowboys-Cardinals game were used in the 1996 film, Jerry Maguire.

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

1996 NFL season
Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

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. 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 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). 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 road 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 an incident where Bronco linebacker (and former 49er) Bill Romanowski spitting in the face of 49er wide receiver J.J. Stokes.

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

1998 NFL season
Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

1999 NFL season
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 AFC Wild Card game on January 8 is remembered for a lateral on a kickoff return that gave the Titans the win. It is called the Music City Miracle.

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

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

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 Jets hosted the Patriots - one full year before the September 11 attacks devastated New York City, among other places.

The September 25 game marked Colts quarterback Peyton Manning's debut in 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.

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????"

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

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.

The September 24 game was not only the first MNF game since the attacks, it was also a rematch of one of the most significant games in the program's history - 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 was the first Monday night game in the NYC area since the attacks. A tribute to the rescue workers at the World Trade Center site was held before the game.

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. 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.

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

2002 NFL season
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.

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

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

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 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. Ironically, Simeon Rice, the player charged with "leaping", would later play for the Colts in 2007.

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

The Dolphins-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 Miami at the time.

All AFC West teams appeared on the program in a span of three weeks: the Chiefs played at the Raiders on October 20, the aforementioned Dolphins-Chargers game, and the Patriots-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 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.

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

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 Nicollette Sheridan. Owens caught three touchdowns in the game.

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.

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

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; usually, the only time the Giants are the road team in their own stadium is when they play the New York Jets) 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. At 9:00 PM, ABC viewers outside NYC and New Orleans moved to the Redskins-Cowboys game, while the Giants-Saints game aired on ESPN (the inverse was true for the NYC and New Orleans markets). This could be considered the pilot episode of the ESPN series as well.

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.

ABC's final NFL broadcast, Super Bowl XL, was plagued by controversial calls made by officials that ultimately decided the game in favor of the Steelers. 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.

Postseason games covered by ABC Monday Night Football team

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 23 game between the Giants and Cowboys became the highest-rated program in the history of cable television, being watched by over 16 million people. ''

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 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in November 1993, between then-vice president Al Gore and Ross Perot, [which aired on CNN's Larry King Live]."

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."

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 ) are:
 * the aforementioned October 23 game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys (16.028 million viewers),
 * the September 25 game between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints (14.9 million viewers),
 * the October 16 game between the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals (14.23 million viewers),
 * 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),
 * the October 2 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles (12.9 million viewers),
 * 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).
 * and, the October 9 game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Denver Broncos (12.5 million viewers), 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.

2007 NFL season
The November 26 Miami Dolphins-Pittsburgh Steelers contest was the lowest-scoring game in Monday Night Football's 38-year history; it threatened to become the first scoreless NFL game since 1943 until just 17 seconds remaining, when Steelers kicker Jeff Reed booted a 24-yard field goal to win it, 3-0. Both offenses were stymied by a heavy thunderstorm which delayed kickoff for about twenty minutes; also, local high school football championship games the preceding weekend left the field in less-than-desirable shape. (The 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.

2008 NFL season
On September 8, Aaron Rodgers debuted as the starting quarterback for the Packers in their victory over the Vikings. It was the first game since September 20, 1992 in which Brett Favre was not the team's starter.

The September 15 game was the highest combined score in the 98 meetings between the Eagles and Cowboys, and the second-highest score in the first half of any MNF game.