For the longest time, Monday Night Football was getting memed by NFL fans all over the place because seemingly every matchup was one of the worst of the week. ESPN clearly recognized that the Monday night product was not good, and they have since taken some pretty dramatic measures to improve it.
They have integrated a simulcast of Monday Night Football — the Manningcast — which is essentially giving fans the opportunity to watch the game virtually with Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and their famous guests. They have also paid a boatload of money to hire away the top broadcast duo Troy Aikman and Joe Buck away from FOX.
Having an improved broadcast is just one part of the equation, however. You’ve got to have good matchups, and you’ve got to get at least a little lucky, right? To get fans to tune in on Monday night, your matchups have to be compelling, which means you want the best possible QB duos as you can get. How did MNF do this season as the NFL schedule was released? What matchups are on the Monday Night Football schedule in 2023?
Let’s take a look at all of them (including MNF productions played outside of Monday night).
Every Monday Night Football matchup on the 2023 NFL schedule
Week 1: Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets
Monday Night Football starts the season with a banger of a matchup, pitting AFC East rivals against each other in Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets debut.
Week 2: New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers
Derek Carr, now the man at the helm of the New Orleans Saints offense, taking on top overall pick Bryce Young and the revamped Carolina Panthers. These two teams have a shot to reclaim the NFC South division title this coming season with their improved rosters.
Week 3: Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The reigning NFC champions make their first appearance on Monday Night Football here in Week 3 against a team the public is not high on at all, to say the least. The Buccaneers could be trotting out Baker Mayfield for this game against the Eagles, and who knows? Maybe they’ll shock some people. The Eagles lost two games with Jalen Hurts last season, including the Super Bowl.
Week 4: Seattle Seahawks @ New York Giants
Call this the “Comeback Kids” matchup. Both Geno Smith and Daniel Jones earned new big-money deals after their 2022 seasons, and both guys shockingly led their teams to the postseason. They’re rewarded with an early-season prime-time matchup. Both of these teams got off to really hot starts last season and sputtered down the stretch.
Week 5: Green Bay Packers @ Las Vegas Raiders
This is the worst matchup on the entire slate for the Monday Night Football schedule in 2023. The Raiders replaced Derek Carr with Jimmy Garoppolo, and the Packers replaced Aaron Rodgers with Jordan Love. Despite that, this game is going to be fun, isn’t it? Davante Adams faces off against his former team.
Week 6: Dallas Cowboys @ Los Angeles Chargers
Kellen Moore taking on his old pals in Dallas. Now the offensive coordinator for Justin Herbert and the Chargers, Moore has a huge responsibility of getting this Chargers offense to a near unstoppable level with a QB who should be much more in the “unstoppable” category than he is. The first MNF appearance of the season for Troy Aikman’s Cowboys taking place in the city of his alma mater, UCLA.
Week 7: San Francisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings
The 49ers and Vikings were two of the best teams in the NFC last season but are they each poised to regress in 2023? I’m not sure about that, but what we do know is that these two teams boast some of the most exciting offensive skill players in the NFL right now.
Week 8: Las Vegas Raiders @ Detroit Lions
The Raiders get yet another Monday matchup before the midway point of the season, this one one the road against the Detroit Lions. The NFL schedule makers were clearly high on the Lions this season and understandably so. This will be the second game back fur suspended Lions receiver Jameson Williams.
Week 9: Los Angeles Chargers @ New York Jets
Another week, another AFC West team in the Monday night slot. This is already the fourth game on the MNF schedule in 2023 including an AFC West team, and we’re about to go on a little streak there. Justin Herbert vs. Aaron Rodgers in NYC? Now that’s some must-see TV.
Week 10: Denver Broncos @ Buffalo Bills
After starting the year on Monday Night Football, Josh Allen is back against the Denver Broncos, a team he has dominated in his NFL career. The Broncos are coming off of a bye week and Sean Payton has done historically well after the bye, winning nine of his last 12 post-bye matchups after starting his coaching career 0-3 after the bye.
Week 11: Philadelphia Eagles @ Kansas City Chiefs
A Super Bowl LVII rematch. Does anything else need to be said? This could be the most-watched NFL game of the year outside of the postseason.
Week 12: Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings
A classic NFC North matchup between two teams vying for supremacy in a division that is now wide-open without Aaron Rodgers in it. Justin Fields needs to take a huge step forward for the Bears this season.
Week 13: Cincinnati Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars
The battle of the cats. The Bengals and Jaguars will be more than just an aesthetically pleasing uniform matchup, but a matchup between two former no. 1 overall picks in Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence. And perhaps by this point in the year, the Jaguars and Bengals could both be vying for position in the AFC playoff race.
Week 14: Tennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins; Green Bay Packers @ New York Giants
A double-header for the Monday Night Football schedule in Week 14 includes the Titans facing off against the Dolphins in Miami and another appearance by the Packers and Giants.
The intrigue for these games will be determined by whether or not teams like the Titans and Giants can overachieve, because otherwise, these are looking like two matchups that will only be of interest to fans of the individual teams and fantasy football players.
Week 15: Kansas City Chiefs @ New England Patriots
Patrick Mahomes vs. Bill Belichick is must-see TV.
Week 16: Baltimore Ravens @ San Francisco 49ers
It’s kind of surprising that we’re not getting Lamar Jackson on MNF until Week 16. At any rate, Jackson and the Ravens should be in playoff contention along with the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners are somewhat of a question mark at QB going into the season, but that didn’t prevent them from being one of the most dominant teams in the NFC this past year.
Week 17: Detroit Lions @ Dallas Cowboys (Saturday)
The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys close out the MNF slate in 2023 in a game that could determine the playoff fate for Detroit.