Monday Night Football: Year-by-Year History (1970-89)
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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 1970-1989.
[edit] 1970 NFL Season
- September 21: Cleveland Browns 31, New York Jets 21
- September 28: Kansas City Chiefs 44, Baltimore Colts 24
- October 5: Detroit Lions 28, Chicago Bears 14
- October 12: Green Bay Packers 22, San Diego Chargers 20
- October 19: Oakland Raiders 34, Washington Redskins 20
- October 26: Minnesota Vikings 13, Los Angeles Rams 3
- November 2: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Cincinnati Bengals 10
- November 9: Baltimore Colts 13, Green Bay Packers 10
- November 16: St. Louis Cardinals 38, Dallas Cowboys 0
- November 23: Philadelphia Eagles 23, New York Giants 20
- November 30: Miami Dolphins 20, Atlanta Falcons 7
- December 7: Cleveland Browns 21, Houston Oilers 10
- December 14: Detroit Lions 28, Los Angeles Rams 23
[edit] 1971 NFL Season
- September 20: Minnesota Vikings 16, Detroit Lions 13
- September 27: St. Louis Cardinals 17, New York Jets 10
- October 4: Oakland Raiders 34, Cleveland Browns 20
- October 11: Dallas Cowboys 20, New York Giants 13
- October 18: Kansas City Chiefs 38, Pittsburgh Steelers 16
- October 25: Minnesota Vikings 10, Baltimore Colts 3
- November 1: Detroit Lions 14, Green Bay Packers 14, tie
- November 8: Baltimore Colts 24, Los Angeles Rams 17
- November 15: San Diego Chargers 20, St. Louis Cardinals 17
- November 22: Atlanta Falcons 28, Green Bay Packers 21
- November 29: Miami Dolphins 34, Chicago Bears 3
- December 6: Kansas City Chiefs 26, San Francisco 49ers 17
- December 13: Washington Redskins 38, Los Angeles Rams 24
[edit] 1972 NFL Season
- September 18: Washington Redskins 24, Minnesota Vikings 21
- September 25: Kansas City Chiefs 20, New Orleans Saints 17
- October 2: New York Giants 27, Philadelphia Eagles 12
- October 9: Oakland Raiders 34, Houston Oilers 0
- This was the game where an ABC camera caught a guy sticking his "middle" finger and Don Meredith said, "he's number one!"
- October 16: Green Bay Packers 24, Detroit Lions 23
- October 23: Chicago Bears 13, Minnesota Vikings 10
- October 30: Dallas Cowboys 28, Detroit Lions 24
- November 6: Baltimore Colts 24, New England Patriots 17
- November 13: Cleveland Browns 21, San Diego Chargers 17
- November 20: Washington Redskins 24, Atlanta Falcons 13
- November 27: Miami Dolphins 31, St. Louis Cardinals 10
- December 4: Los Angeles Rams 26, San Francisco 49ers 16
- December 11: Oakland Raiders 24, New York Jets 16
[edit] 1973 NFL Season
- September 17: Green Bay Packers 23, New York Jets 7
- September 24: Dallas Cowboys 40, New Orleans Saints 3
- October 1: Detroit Lions 31, Atlanta Falcons 6
- October 8: Washington Redskins 14, Dallas Cowboys 7
- October 15: Miami Dolphins 17, Cleveland Browns 9
- October 22: Oakland Raiders 23, Denver Broncos 23, tie
- October 29: Buffalo Bills 23, Kansas City Chiefs 14
- November 5: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Washington Redskins 16
- November 12: Kansas City Chiefs 19, Chicago Bears 57
- November 19: Atlanta Falcons 20, Minnesota Vikings 14
- November 26: San Francisco 49ers 20, Green Bay Packers 6
- December 3: Miami Dolphins 30, Pittsburgh Steelers 26
- December 10: Los Angeles Rams 40, New York Giants 6
- This was the final season before the NFL instituted overtime play for regular season games.
[edit] 1974 NFL Season
- September 16: Buffalo Bills 21, Oakland Raiders 20
- September 23: Philadelphia Eagles 13, Dallas Cowboys 10
- September 30: Washington Redskins 30, Denver Broncos 3
- October 7: Miami Dolphins 21, New York Jets 17
- October 14: Detroit Lions 17, San Francisco 49ers 13
- October 21: Chicago Bears 10, Green Bay Packers 9
- October 28: Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Atlanta Falcons 17
- November 4: Los Angeles Rams 15, San Francisco 49ers 13
- November 11: Minnesota Vikings 28, St. Louis Cardinals 24
- November 18: Kansas City Chiefs 42, Denver Broncos 34
- November 25: Pittsburgh Steelers 28, New Orleans Saints 7
- December 2: Miami Dolphins 24, Cincinnati Bengals 3
- December 9: Washington Redskins 23, Los Angeles Rams 17
[edit] 1975 NFL Season
- September 22: Oakland Raiders 31, Miami Dolphins 21
- September 29: Denver Broncos 23, Green Bay Packers 13
- October 6: Dallas Cowboys 36, Detroit Lions 10
- October 13: Washington Redskins 27, St. Louis Cardinals 17
- October 20: New York Giants 20, Buffalo Bills 17
- October 27: Minnesota Vikings 13, Chicago Bears 9
- November 3: Los Angeles Rams 42, Philadelphia Eagles 3
- November 10: Kansas City Chiefs 34, Dallas Cowboys 31
- November 17: Cincinnati Bengals 33, Buffalo Bills 24
- November 24: Pittsburgh Steelers 32, Houston Oilers 9
- December 1: Miami Dolphins 20, New England Patriots 17
- December 8: Oakland Raiders 17, Denver Broncos 10
- December 15: San Diego Chargers 24, New York Jets 16
[edit] 1976 NFL Season
- September 13: Miami Dolphins 30, Buffalo Bills 21
- September 20: Oakland Raiders 24, Kansas City Chiefs 21
- September 27: Washington Redskins 20, Philadelphia Eagles 17, OT
- First MNF OT game under the new rule
- October 4: Minnesota Vikings 17, Pittsburgh Steelers 6
- October 11: San Francisco 49ers 16, Los Angeles Rams 0
- October 18: New England Patriots 41, New York Jets 7
- October 25: Washington Redskins 20, St. Louis Cardinals 10
- November 1: Baltimore Colts 38, Houston Oilers 14
- November 8: Cincinnati Bengals 20, Los Angeles Rams 12
- November 15: Dallas Cowboys 17, Buffalo Bills 10
- November 22: Baltimore Colts 17, Miami Dolphins 16
- November 29: San Francisco 49ers 20, Minnesota Vikings 16
- December 6: Oakland Raiders 35, New York Jets 20
[edit] 1977 NFL Season
- September 19: Pittsburgh Steelers 27, San Francisco 49ers 0
- September 26: Cleveland Browns 30, New England Patriots 27, OT
- October 3: Oakland Raiders 37, Kansas City Chiefs 28
- October 10: Chicago Bears 24, Los Angeles Rams 23
- October 17: Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 14
- October 24: Los Angeles Rams 35, Minnesota Vikings 3
- October 31: St. Louis Cardinals 28, New York Giants 0
- November 7: Baltimore Colts 10, Washington Redskins 3
- November 14: St. Louis Cardinals 24, Dallas Cowboys 17
- November 21: Washington Redskins 10, Green Bay Packers 9
- November 28: Oakland Raiders 34, Buffalo Bills 13
- December 5: Miami Dolphins 17, Baltimore Colts 6
- December 12: Dallas Cowboys 42, San Francisco 49ers 35
[edit] 1978 NFL Season
- September 4: Dallas Cowboys 38, Baltimore Colts 0
- September 11: Minnesota Vikings 12, Denver Broncos 9, OT
- September 18: Baltimore Colts 34, New England Patriots 27
- September 25: Minnesota Vikings 24, Chicago Bears 20
- October 2: Washington Redskins 9, Dallas Cowboys 5
- October 9: Miami Dolphins 21, Cincinnati Bengals 0
- October 16: Denver Broncos 16, Chicago Bears 7
- October 23: Houston Oilers 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
- October 30: Atlanta Falcons 15, Los Angeles Rams 7
- November 6: Baltimore Colts 21, Washington Redskins 17
- November 13: Oakland Raiders 34, Cincinnati Bengals 21
- November 20: Houston Oilers 35, Miami Dolphins 30
- November 27: Pittsburgh Steelers 24, San Francisco 49ers 7
- December 4: San Diego Chargers 40, Chicago Bears 7
- December 11: Cincinnati Bengals 20, Los Angeles Rams 19
- December 18: Miami Dolphins 23, New England Patriots 3
- Note: This was the first of 25 seasons that a Monday Night Football game was played during the final week of the NFL regular-season.
[edit] 1979 NFL Season
- September 3: Pittsburgh Steelers 16, New England Patriots 13, OT
- September 10: Atlanta Falcons 14, Philadelphia Eagles 10
- September 17: Washington Redskins 27, New York Giants 0
- September 24: Cleveland Browns 26, Dallas Cowboys 7
- October 1: Green Bay Packers 27, New England Patriots 14
- October 8: Oakland Raiders 13, Miami Dolphins 3
- October 15: New York Jets 14, Minnesota Vikings 7
- October 22: Pittsburgh Steelers 42, Denver Broncos 7
- October 29: Seattle Seahawks 31, Atlanta Falcons 28
- Note: It was the Seahawks' first appearance on Monday Night Football and the highlight of the game was a fake FG by Seattle's QB Jim Zorn who threw the ball to kicker Efren Herrera resulting a Seattle first down.
- November 5: Houston Oilers 9, Miami Dolphins 6
- November 12: Philadelphia Eagles 31, Dallas Cowboys 21
- November 19: Los Angeles Rams 20, Atlanta Falcons 14
- November 26: Seattle Seahawks 30, New York Jets 7
- December 3: Oakland Raiders 42, New Orleans Saints 35
- December 10: Houston Oilers 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
- December 17: San Diego Chargers 17, Denver Broncos 7
[edit] 1980 NFL Season
- September 8: Dallas Cowboys 17, Washington Redskins 3
- September 15: Houston Oilers 16, Cleveland Browns 7
- September 22: Philadelphia Eagles 35, New York Giants 3
- September 29: New England Patriots 23, Denver Broncos 14
- October 6: Chicago Bears 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0
- October 13: Denver Broncos 20, Washington Redskins 17
- October 20: Oakland Raiders 45, Pittsburgh Steelers 34
- October 27: New York Jets 17, Miami Dolphins 14
- November 3: Cleveland Browns 27, Chicago Bears 21
- November 10: Houston Oilers 38, New England Patriots 34
- November 17: Oakland Raiders 19, Seattle Seahawks 17
- November 24: Los Angeles Rams 27, New Orleans Saints 7
- December 1: Oakland Raiders 9, Denver Broncos 3
- December 8: Miami Dolphins 16, New England Patriots 13, OT
- This was the game where Howard Cosell broke the news of John Lennon's murder live on the air.
- December 15: Los Angeles Rams 38, Dallas Cowboys 14
- December 22: San Diego Chargers 26, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
[edit] 1981 NFL Season
- September 7: San Diego Chargers 44, Cleveland Browns 14
- September 14: Oakland Raiders 36, Minnesota Vikings 10
- September 21: Dallas Cowboys 35, New England Patriots 21
- September 28: Los Angeles Rams 24, Chicago Bears 7
- October 5: Philadelphia Eagles 16, Atlanta Falcons 13
- October 12: Buffalo Bills 31, Miami Dolphins 21
- October 19: Detroit Lions 48, Chicago Bears 17
- October 26: Pittsburgh Steelers 26, Houston Oilers 13
- November 2: Denver Broncos 19, Minnesota Vikings 17
- November 9: Dallas Cowboys 27, Buffalo Bills 14
- November 16: Seattle Seahawks 44, San Diego Chargers 23
- November 23: Atlanta Falcons 31, Minnesota Vikings 30
- November 30: Miami Dolphins 13, Philadelphia Eagles 10
- December 7: Oakland Raiders 30, Pittsburgh Steelers 27
- December 14: Los Angeles Rams 21, Atlanta Falcons 16
- December 21: San Diego Chargers 23, Oakland Raiders 10
- In this MNF season the visiting team won every game in September; the home team won every game thereafter.
[edit] 1982 NFL Season
- September 13: Pittsburgh Steelers 36, Dallas Cowboys 28
- September 20: Green Bay Packers 27, New York Giants 19
- Note: The Packers' James Lofton takes a reverse 83 yards for a touchdown as GB scores two TDs and a pair of field goals in second half for comeback win.
NINE-WEEK NFL STRIKE
- November 22: Los Angeles Raiders 28, San Diego Chargers 24
- November 29: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23, Miami Dolphins 17
- December 6: New York Jets 28, Detroit Lions 13
- December 13: Dallas Cowboys 37, Houston Oilers 7
- December 20: San Diego Chargers 50, Cincinnati Bengals 34
- December 27: Miami Dolphins 27, Buffalo Bills 10
- January 3, 1983: Minnesota Vikings 31, Dallas Cowboys 27
- In this game, the Cowboys' Tony Dorsett ran for 99 yards and a touchdown - still the longest running play from scrimmage in the NFL.
[edit] 1983 NFL Season
- September 5: Dallas Cowboys 31, Washington Redskins 30
- This was the game where Howard Cosell infamously referred to Redskins wide receiver, Alvin Garrett as a "little monkey."
- September 12: San Diego Chargers 17, Kansas City Chiefs 14
- September 19: Los Angeles Raiders 27, Miami Dolphins 14
- September 26: New York Giants 27, Green Bay Packers 3
- October 3: New York Jets 34, Buffalo Bills 10
- October 10: Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Cincinnati Bengals 14
- October 17: Green Bay Packers 48, Washington Redskins 47
- Note: The Redskins' Mark Moseley misses a field goal in closing seconds to preserve GB's win over the defending Super Bowl champions.
- October 24: St. Louis Cardinals 20, New York Giants 20, OT, tie
- This is the only five-quarter deadlock in MNF history, as Neil O'Donoghue blows three field goal attempts in the extra period, one of them from extra-point distance.
- October 31: Washington Redskins 27, San Diego Chargers 24
- November 7: Detroit Lions 15, New York Giants 9
- November 14: Los Angeles Rams 36, Atlanta Falcons 13
- November 21: New York Jets 31, New Orleans Saints 28
- November 28: Miami Dolphins 38, Cincinnati Bengals 14
- December 5: Detroit Lions 13, Minnesota Vikings 2
- December 12: Green Bay Packers 12, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9, OT
- December 19: San Francisco 49ers 42, Dallas Cowboys 17
- Howard Cosell's final MNF game.
[edit] 1984 NFL Season
- September 3: Dallas Cowboys 20, Los Angeles Rams 13
- September 10: San Francisco 49ers 37, Washington Redskins 31
- September 17: Washington Redskins 30, Denver Broncos 3
- September 24: Miami Dolphins 21, Buffalo Bills 17
- October 1: Pittsburgh Steelers 38, Cincinnati Bengals 17
- October 8: San Francisco 49ers 31, New York Giants 10
- October 15: Denver Broncos 17, Green Bay Packers 14
- October 22: Los Angeles Rams 24, Atlanta Falcons 10
- October 29: Seattle Seahawks 24, San Diego Chargers 0
- November 5: Washington Redskins 27, Atlanta Falcons 14
- November 12: Seattle Seahawks 17, Los Angeles Raiders 14
- November 19: New Orleans Saints 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 24
- November 26: Miami Dolphins 28, New York Jets 17
- December 3: San Diego Chargers 20, Chicago Bears 7
- December 10: Los Angeles Raiders 24, Detroit Lions 3
- December 17: Miami Dolphins 28, Dallas Cowboys 21
[edit] 1985 NFL Season
- September 9: Dallas Cowboys 44, Washington Redskins 14
- September 16: Cleveland Browns 17, Pittsburgh Steelers 7
- September 23: Los Angeles Rams 35, Seattle Seahawks 24
- September 30: Cincinnati Bengals 37, Pittsburgh Steelers 24
- October 7: Washington Redskins 27, St. Louis Cardinals 10
- October 14: New York Jets 23, Miami Dolphins 7
- October 21: Chicago Bears 23, Green Bay Packers 7
- Note: William "Refrigerator" Perry plunges into the end zone for a touchdown in his national coming-out party.
- October 28: Los Angeles Raiders 34, San Diego Chargers 21
- November 4: St. Louis Cardinals 21, Dallas Cowboys 10
- November 11: Denver Broncos 17, San Francisco 49ers 16
- November 18: Washington Redskins 23, New York Giants 21
- This game is infamous for Lawrence Taylor's tackle that ended Joe Theismann's career.
- November 25: San Francisco 49ers 19, Seattle Seahawks 6
- December 2: Miami Dolphins 38, Chicago Bears 24
- This was and still is, the highest rated game in Monday Night Football history.
- December 9: Los Angeles Rams 27, San Francisco 49ers 20
- December 16: Miami Dolphins 30, New England Patriots 27
- December 23: Los Angeles Raiders 16, Los Angeles Rams 6
[edit] 1986 NFL Season
- September 8: Dallas Cowboys 31, New York Giants 28
- Al Michaels' MNF announcing debut.
- September 15: Denver Broncos 21, Pittsburgh Steelers 10
- September 22: Chicago Bears 25, Green Bay Packers 12
- September 29: Dallas Cowboys 31, St. Louis Cardinals 7
- October 6: Seattle Seahawks 33, San Diego Chargers 7
- October 13: Cincinnati Bengals 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 22
- October 20: New York Jets 22, Denver Broncos 10
- October 27: New York Giants 27, Washington Redskins 20
- November 3: Los Angeles Rams 20, Chicago Bears 17
- November 10: Cleveland Browns 26, Miami Dolphins 16
- November 17: Washington Redskins 14, San Francisco 49ers 6
- November 24: Miami Dolphins 45, New York Jets 3
- December 1: New York Giants 21, San Francisco 49ers 17
- December 8: Seattle Seahawks 37, Los Angeles Raiders 0
- December 15: Chicago Bears 16, Detroit Lions 13
- December 22: New England Patriots 34, Miami Dolphins 27
[edit] 1987 NFL Season
- September 14: Chicago Bears 34, New York Giants 19
- September 21: New York Jets 43, New England Patriots 24
- NFL STRIKE CANCELS ONE GAME.**
- October 5: San Francisco 49ers 41, at New York Giants 21
- October 12: Denver Broncos 30, Los Angeles Raiders 14
- October 19: Washington Redskins 13, at Dallas Cowboys 7
- NFL STRIKE ENDS AND PLAYERS RETURN**
- October 26: Cleveland Browns 30, Los Angeles Rams 17
- October 26: Minnesota Vikings 34, Denver Broncos 27 (rescheduled game)
- Note: This game was rescheduled because Game 7 of the 1987 World Series (which was also broadcasted by ABC), which featured the Minnesota Twins, had to play at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on Sunday night, when the Vikings were originally slated to host the Broncos. Therefore, the game was moved to Monday night, and was played simultaneously with the Browns-Rams game.
- November 2: Dallas Cowboys 33, New York Giants 24
- November 9: New York Jets 30, Seattle Seahawks 14
- November 16: Denver Broncos 31, Chicago Bears 29
- November 23: Los Angeles Rams 30, at Washington Redskins 26
- November 30: Los Angeles Raiders 37, at Seattle Seahawks 14
- Note: Bo Jackson's career high of 221 yards.
- December 7: Miami Dolphins 37, New York Jets 28
- December 14: San Francisco 49ers 41, Chicago Bears 0
- December 21: Dallas Cowboys 29, at Los Angeles Rams 21
- December 28: New England Patriots 24, Miami Dolphins 10
[edit] 1988 NFL Season
- September 5: New York Giants 27, Washington Redskins 20
- September 12: Dallas Cowboys 17, at Phoenix Cardinals 14
- September 19: Cleveland Browns 23, Indianapolis Colts 17
- September 26: Los Angeles Raiders 30, at Denver Broncos 27, OT
- October 3: New Orleans Saints 20, Dallas Cowboys 17
- October 10: Philadelphia Eagles 24, New York Giants 13
- October 17: Buffalo Bills 37, at New York Jets 14
- October 24: Chicago Bears 10, San Francisco 49ers 9
- October 31: Indianapolis Colts 55, Denver Broncos 23
- November 7: Houston Oilers 24, Cleveland Browns 17
- November 14: Buffalo Bills 31, at Miami Dolphins 6
- November 21: San Francisco 49ers 37, Washington Redskins 21
- November 28: Seattle Seahawks 35, Los Angeles Raiders 27
- December 5: Los Angeles Rams 23, Chicago Bears 3
- December 12: Miami Dolphins 38, Cleveland Browns 31
- December 19: Minnesota Vikings 28, Chicago Bears 27
[edit] 1989 NFL Season
- September 11: New York Giants 27, at Washington Redskins 24
- September 18: Denver Broncos 28, at Buffalo Bills 14
- September 25: Cincinnati Bengals 21, Cleveland Browns 14
- October 2: Chicago Bears 27, Philadelphia Eagles 13
- October 9: Los Angeles Raiders 14, at New York Jets 7
- October 16: Buffalo Bills 23, Los Angeles Rams 20
- October 23: Cleveland Browns 27, Chicago Bears 7
- October 30: New York Giants 24, Minnesota Vikings 14
- November 6: San Francisco 49ers 31, New Orleans Saints 13
- November 13: Houston Oilers 26, Cincinnati Bengals 24
- November 20: Denver Broncos 14, at Washington Redskins 10
- November 27: San Francisco 49ers 34, New York Giants 24
- December 4: Seattle Seahawks 17, Buffalo Bills 16
- December 11: San Francisco 49ers 30, at Los Angeles Rams 27
- December 18: New Orleans Saints 30, Philadelphia Eagles 20
- December 25: Minnesota Vikings 29, Cincinnati Bengals 21
[edit] References
- Total Football II,, Edited by Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft and John Thorn, Harper Collins Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-06-270174-6.
