The NFL Preseason is back in action for Week 2 after a number of interesting games last week involving the Chargers, Redskins, Bills, Colts, Giants, Jets, Vikings, Texans and many other teams and as coaches try and figure out how to game plan for their next opponent, Monday Night Football is gearing up for the season.
The first ESPN Monday Night Football preseason game was on Thursday night with the MNF crew and saw the Bengals and Falcons play and in Week 2 the game will be just as interesting, as the Chicago Bears take on the San Diego Chargers. Week 3 will have the Steelers playing the Redskins on Monday night, while the Panthers will visit the Super Bowl champions in the Ravens in Week 4 before the regular season starts with the Redskins and Eagles. Check below for the full MNF schedule for this season.
Some information from Week 1:
The Dolphins and Jags will get started at 7:30 along with the Jets and Lions and the Patriots and Eagles and after having a joint practice, Philly and New England will take the field at Lincoln Financial Field. The Bears and Panthers will be playing and old position coach Ron Rivera will be facing his old team in Chicago while the Texans will be playing against the Vikings in Minnesota.
The Oakland and Dallas game should be very interesting out on the West coast, as both teams will be looking to improve after missing the playoffs last year. Head coach Dennis Allen is excited about all the new players he has in the fold and general manager Reggie McKenzie has done a good job at signing veterans and adding young players, including names like Tracy Porter, Mike Jenkins, Sio Moore, Charles Woodson, Nick Kasa, Latavius Murray, Bruce Butler and more and with Matt Flynn now in the fold, the team is expecting improvements.
The Raiders went just 4-12 last season and now heads into unchartered territory, as Matt Flynn has never been a full time starter and he will take over from Carson Palmer after he was traded to the Cardinals. The Cowboys handed Tony Romo a huge contract and he will have tons of pressure on him this year from all sides and depending on how the team plays, Jason Garrett could be gone by the end of the year and Romo could be getting from all sides if they lose like they did last season on the final day of the year.
The Texans and Vikings both have Super Bowl aspirations and that will come through their running games, as Arian Foster and Adrian Peterson likely will be the top two rushers in the league. AP won MVP and finished with 2,000 yards rushing and Foster is resting this preseason as he gets ready for Week 1 and both Kansas City and New Orleans are looking forward to putting 2012 behind, although for different reasons. KC has a new coach after going just 4-12, while the Saints are ready to get Sean Payton back after the bounty scandal.
The Monday Night Football schedule on ESPN starts off with an exciting NFC East division game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Redskins in Washington before the Houston Texans visit the San Diego Chargers in second game of a double header. The second week of the season has the AFC North rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals, while on Sept. 23 the Oakland Raiders will travel to play Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Manning has a few interesting games on the schedule, as the Broncos will play the New York Giants and Eli Manning in Week 2 and will travel to Indianapolis to play the Colts in Week 7.
The Miami Dolphins will travel to play the New Orleans Saints to finish September, giving the Dolphins a chance to see what they missed out on when they didn't sign Drew Brees when he was a free agent years ago. The Saints will be trying to bounce back from their bounty ravaged season and will get their first chance in primetime on Sept. 30.
The following week has the New York Jets heading down to Georgia to play the Atlanta Falcons before the Indianapolis Colts play the San Diego Chargers in California. The Giants will play their only Monday night game against the Minnesota Vikings after playing a Thursday game against Chicago, giving them a long break heading into the matchup with Adrian Peterson.
ESPN's Monday Night Football 2013 NFL Preseason Schedule:
Date Time (ET) Game
Thursday, Aug. 8 8 p.m. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons
Thursday, Aug. 15 8 p.m. San Diego Chargers vs. Chicago Bears
Monday, Aug. 19 8 p.m. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Washington Redskins
Thursday, Aug. 22 8 p.m. Carolina Panthers vs. Baltimore Ravens