Monday Night Football is nothing new to UK sports fans, having been introduced by Sky Sports ahead of the inaugural 1992/93 Premier League season. Those old enough to remember the early Sky broadcasts may remember a distinct US flavour to the Monday Night Football presentation – best exemplified by the entertaining but short-lived “Sky Strikers” cheerleading troupe.
While such US trappings didn’t really take off with UK viewers, their presence was likely inspired by the original Monday Night Football. Referring to the gridiron, rather than the round-ball version of the game, Monday Night Football (MNF) is among the longest-running TV shows in the USA.
Experimentation with Monday games began as early as 1966 before Monday Night Football was officially introduced to coincide with the NFL/AFL merger of 1970. Fast forward to the present day, and Monday Night Football remains a key part of the weekly routine for NFL fans, both in the US and the UK.
Monday Night Football Fixtures & Results (Shown Tuesday AM in the UK)
| Day* | Date | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 9th Sep 2025 | Minnesota | 27 - 24 | Chicago |
| Tuesday | 16th Sep 2025 | Tampa Bay | 20 - 19 | Houston |
| Tuesday | 16th Sep 2025 | Los Angeles Chargers | 20 - 9 | Las Vegas |
| Tuesday | 23rd Sep 2025 | Detroit | 38 - 30 | Baltimore |
| Tuesday | 30th Sep 2025 | Cincinnati | 3 - 28 | Denver |
| Tuesday | 30th Sep 2025 | New York Jets | 21 - 27 | Miami |
| Tuesday | 7th Oct 2025 | Kansas City | 28 - 31 | Jacksonville |
| Tuesday | 14th Oct 2025 | Buffalo | 14 - 24 | Atlanta |
| Tuesday | 14th Oct 2025 | Chicago | 25 - 24 | Washington |
| Tuesday | 21st Oct 2025 | Tampa Bay | 9 - 24 | Detroit |
| Tuesday | 21st Oct 2025 | Houston | 19 - 27 | Seattle |
| Tuesday | 28th Oct 2025 | Washington | 7 - 28 | Kansas City |
| Tuesday | 4th Nov 2025 | Arizona | 27 - 17 | Dallas |
| Tuesday | 11th Nov 2025 | Philadelphia | 10 - 7 | Green Bay |
| Tuesday | 18th Nov 2025 | Dallas | 33 - 16 | Las Vegas |
| Tuesday | 25th Nov 2025 | Carolina | 9 - 20 | San Francisco |
| Tuesday | 2nd Dec 2025 | New York Giants | 15 - 33 | New England |
| Tuesday | 9th Dec 2025 | Philadelphia | 19 (OT) - 22 | Los Angeles Chargers |
| Tuesday | 16th Dec 2025 | Miami | 15 - 28 | Pittsburgh |
| Tuesday | 23rd Dec 2025 | San Francisco | 48 - 27 | Indianapolis |
| Tuesday | 30th Dec 2025 | Los Angeles Rams | 24 - 27 | Atlanta |
*Note - dates and times are in GMT and may show a different day to the US schedule.
What Is Monday Night Football?
The roots of Monday Night Football predate the modern NFL. Back in the 1960s, the then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle dreamt of staging at least one standalone prime-time game outside of the traditional Sunday time slots. Initial plans for a Friday night game were scrapped due to clashes with the college football schedule. The Monday night plan B found far more success. US network CBS screened one Monday night game in the 1966 and 1967 seasons, and two in 1968 and 1969. ABC then stepped in as the official Monday Night Football broadcaster from 1970 to 2005, before handing the reins to ESPN in 2006.
Much like Monday Night Football in the UK, the various broadcasters have aimed to provide a different feel to the standard Sunday coverage. In-depth data analysis, innovative camera angles and computer graphics are all common threads that run through both the NFL and Premier League Monday night coverage.
However, while the occasional celebrity may join Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, non-sporting stars are a more regular occurrence in the US version of Monday Night Football. Big names to make an appearance, pitch-side or the commentary booth, include Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Lennon, Bill Clinton, and Kermit the Frog – creating the unique situation where referring to a sports pundit as a muppet was 100% accurate.
Increasing the Profile of the NFL
As the biggest sports league in the world, the NFL already captures the imagination of millions. The league’s prime-time TV scheduling only helps to grow the sport’s popularity. Together with Thursday Night Football, Monday Night Football stretches the NFL week beyond its traditional Sunday slot.
In separating the Monday Night game from the Sunday fixtures, the NFL creates a focal headline match to act as the final clash of the game week. With no other games to compete with, Monday Night Football is well placed to draw a huge audience. A bigger audience means higher ratings and advertising revenue for the broadcasters, which in turn leads to better TV deals for the NFL.
The advantages of Monday Night Football extend to the teams, with the vast national and international audience helping the franchises expand their reach and income.
How Many Monday Night Football Games Are There Each Year?
The popularity of Monday Night Football has inspired an explosion in the number of games. Since the expansion to a 17-game regular season in 2021, there are typically around 21 Monday Night Football games per season – not counting the occasional Saturday games, which are labelled as Monday Night Football “special events”.
Four to five Monday Night Football doubleheaders contribute to this increased number. Amidst the new season hype, Kick Off Weekend is often selected for a Monday night double bill. However, this isn’t set in stone. For example, in the 2025 season, the Monday Night Football doubleheaders came in weeks 2, 4, 6, and 7.
The final week of the regular season is the only week in which Monday Night Football never takes place. All games are held on a Sunday on the final day to provide an even playing field for the playoff-bound teams. In years when New Year’s Day falls on a Monday, that week (Week 17) will also be a blank day for Monday Night Football due to clashes with the college football playoffs.
What Time Do the Games Start?
Monday Night Football games typically kick off at 8:15 pm (ET), which translates to 1:15 am (BST). In doubleheader weeks, the games tend to follow a back-to-back or staggered format. Back-to-back games usually kick off at 12 am and 3:15 am in the UK. Staggered games partially overlap, kicking off at 12:15 am and 1:15 am. Whether in a single or double game week, UK fans will need to switch to the night shift to take in the MNF action.
How Are the Games Chosen?
The Monday Night Football schedule is set long before the season begins, usually in the spring. When picking out the prime-time fixtures, schedulers aim to mix traditional rivalries with games likely to have playoff implications. However, in a league admirably designed to create as level a playing field as possible, predicting the likely playoff contenders so far in advance can be a tricky task.
Before 2023, the original MNF schedule could not be altered. However, this led to a situation where late-season Monday Night Football games often had nothing riding on them and thus attracted minimal interest. In an effort to avoid this scenario, the NFL now permits the switching, or flexing, of games from Sunday into the Monday night prime-time slot.
How to Watch Monday Night Football in the UK
Channel 5 remains the only free-to-air NFL broadcaster in the UK. However, whilst it has shown Monday Night Football in the past, Channel 5 has focused on Sunday games in more recent years. That leaves UK fans hoping to tune in to Monday Night Football with two options.
Sky Sports
Sky Sports has acted as the UK’s leading NFL broadcaster since taking over from Channel 4 in 1995. In 2015, Sky secured the rights to every NFL game and currently screens live Sunday Night, Thursday Night, and Monday Night Football. The Sky NFL channel is included in the Sky Sports subscription package.
NFL Game Pass
The official NFL Game Pass provides an alternative to Sky Sports and includes live coverage of every NFL game, whenever it is played – including all Monday Night Football matchups. An NFL Game Pass can be purchased via DAZN and Amazon Prime.