Why are there two NFL games tonight? History of ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’ doubleheader and a new 2022 twist

ESPN will continue its two-week “Monday Night Football” experiment in 2022, which thus far has created spectacular results.

For only the second time since the network obtained “MNF” rights in 2006, ESPN did not broadcast a doubleheader in Week 1, waiting instead to break it out for Week 2 this year. It was a multi-faceted decision, one that included the debut of a former Fox broadcast team and a massive Week 1 game that didn’t need to share the stage with another broadcast.

And so, ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” doubleheader will take place in Week 2 as Derrick Henry and the Titans take on Josh Allen and the Bills in Buffalo and Jalen Hurts attempts to lead the Eagles to victory over Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson and the Vikings in Philadelphia.

With that, The Sporting News News breaks down the reasoning to delay the doubleheader to Week 2, as well as the history of ESPN’s “MNF” broadcast:

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Why are there two ‘MNF’ games tonight?

ESPN has created a tradition of Week 1 Monday night doubleheaders, dating back to the network’s acquisition of “Monday Night Football” broadcasts in 2006. However, the network opted to delay its choice of doubleheader to Week 2 in 2022. Why?

Part of the reason, as noted by Sports Illustrated, is that ESPN wanted to highlight its new $165 million booth in Week 1, which included the first “MNF” broadcast of former Fox partners Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, generally considered among the best broadcast teams in American football.

Moreover, the Week 1 “MNF” matchup featured the return of Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson to the Seahawks’ Lumen Field. That matchup was plenty big enough on its own, airing on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. Indeed, Sports Media Watch reported that the Week 1 debut of “MNF” was the highest-rated since 2000, with a Nielsen rating of 11.1 and 19.84 million viewers.

Now ESPN can have two massive weeks to start the season as opposed to just one. And it only stands to get bigger from here.

ESPN and the NFL in March 2021 agreed to a new 10-year deal that will begin in 2023 and run through the 2033 season. It will feature an increase of “Monday Night Football” games in a given season, from 17 to 23. ESPN will accomplish that with even more doubleheaders in the future: three, instead of the traditional one.

The deal, reportedly worth $2.6 billion, will also include ESPN in the Super Bowl rotation in 2026 and 2030; give the network a Week 18 Saturday night doubleheader; and allow the network to broadcast a Sunday ESPN+ exclusive game (starting in 2022).

‘MNF’ WEEK 2 SCHEDULE: Eagles-Vikings | Bills-Titans

What channels are tonight’s ‘MNF’ games?

The two “Monday Night Football” games will overlap in their coverage, with the first game — Bills-Titans — kicking off at 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN. Starting at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC, it will begin overlapping with the second kickoff of the night, Eagles-Vikings.

Traditionally, ESPN would simply begin one game following the conclusion of the other, with the first game kicking off at around 7 p.m. ET and the latter kicking off at 10 p.m. ET. However, that meant the latter game would often end after midnight on the East Coast.

By staggering the kickoffs on different networks, viewers can tune into both without having to stay up late to watch the latter game. Moreover, ABC and ESPN will feature periodic double-box views to see both games on the same screen. Both broadcasts will also use double score boxes (depending on which game you are watching, the other game’s score box will be smaller and less noticeable than the current broadcast).

ESPN and ABC are likely banking on viewers switching to Eagles-Vikings following the conclusion of Bills-Titans, which should take place sometime during the third quarter of the former game.

Below you can see which channel the respective games will be on; regardless of which game you want to watch, both can be streamed via fuboTV, which carries the ABC family of networks and offers a free trial:

MORE: Why Joe Buck and Troy Aikman left Fox to join ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’ booth

Titans at Bills

• Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN | ESPN2
• Streaming: ESPN App, fuboTV

Vikings at Eagles

• Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC | ESPN+
• Streaming: ESPN App, fuboTV

Who is calling the ‘MNF’ games?

ESPN’s primary “Monday Night Football” broadcast team of Buck (play-by-play), Aikman (color commentator) and Lisa Salters (sideline reporter) will call the Eagles-Vikings game in Philadelphia.

A secondary broadcast team comprised of Steve Levy, Dan Orlovsky, Louis Riddick and Laura Rutledge will call the Bills-Titans game in Buffalo.

John Parry will work both games as an officiating expert, as needed.

MORE: Why are Dan Orlovsky, Steve Levy, Louis Riddick announcing ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 2?

History of ‘MNF’ doubleheaders

ESPN has had a scheduled doubleheader every season dating back to 2006 except one.

That came in 2021; prior to the season, ESPN and NFL’s contract introduced a Saturday doubleheader late in the season, with selection of games that had playoff implications. For that reason, ESPN dropped its traditional Week 1 doubleheader in favor of Week 18, which included Chiefs-Broncos and Eagles-Cowboys.

The “MNF” doubleheader resumed in 2022, with Bills-Titans and Eagles-Vikings.