The Monday Night Football schedule for the 2014 season has been released and the full list of games on MNF for ESPN starts with a Week 1 doubleheader to begin the season, as the New York Giants will visit the Detroit Lions and the San Diego Chargers will face off against the Arizona Cardinals in the late game.
Monday night football doesn't always have the best matchups, but this year it looks like the schedule is shaping up to be a solid one and the first four games on the schedule all are intriguing and the Week 4 game is a great matchup between playoff teams. The first two games on the doubleheader has one playoff team in the Chargers, while the Lions and Giants are trying to bounce back from disappointing seasons and the Cardinals come in after nearly making the playoffs last season out of the NFC West.
The second week has the Philadelphia Eagles visiting the Indianapolis Colts at The Drum aka Lucas Oil Stadium and that will be a matchup of young QBs and playoff teams from last season. Nick Foles leads the Eagles after they won the NFC East, while Andrew Luck has brought the Colts into the playoffs in each of his first two seasons in the league, including as division champs last season. Week 3 has the Chicago Bears visiting the improved NY Jets and this comes as the team has signed Eric Decker and Chris Johnson and they could be better with Michael Vick at quarterback.
The Week 4 game could be one of the best of the season, as double digit win teams in the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs play. KC is looking to battle the Denver Broncos in the AFC West, while the Pats are looking like the favorites once again in the East division. The matchup between Andy Reid and Bill Belichick should be a good one and that sets up the next game, which has the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins. This is a rematch from the playoffs two years ago and comes as the Hawks are now Super Bowl champions, while the Redskins are looking to come back from a lost season with a new head coach.
Week 6 has a divisional matchup between the 49ers and the St. Louis Rams and those NFC West games are always tough no matter who is playing, while the next week has the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers. While the games may not end up great based on team records, the schedule doesn't have many "duds" as a number of high profile teams have games and so do playoff teams from last season like the Panthers and the Bengals.
The Giants make their second appearance after Week 8 when the redskins and Cowboys play, as the G-Men will face off against the Colts at home on MNF in Week 9 and that comes after their bye week and a Thursday night football game. The Carolina Panthers and Eagles game has the potential to be great and the Steelers and Titans could be a dud game, but the game after that should be excellent with the Ravens and Saints playing in Week 12.
Check here for the full Monday night football schedule from ESPN for 2014.