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“Monday Night Football”: Why is there a doubleheader in Week 7?

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“Monday Night Football”: Why is there a doubleheader in Week 7?

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For the third time this season, Week 7 will feature two Monday Night Football games. Why have there been multiple Monday night doubleheaders in recent years?

The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, lies in the broadcast agreements between the NFL and ESPN. This week's doubleheader is the third of four weeks with multiple Monday night games this year. There were two such weeks in a row in Weeks 3 and 4, and Week 15 will be the last week with an “MNF” doubleheader in 2024.

First up in Week 7 are the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to kick off Monday Night Football action. The Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals begin their game 45 minutes later.

Here's what to know about this week's Monday Night Football doubleheader and what to expect later this year:

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Why is there a “Monday Night Football” doubleheader?

Due to broadcast agreements, there are several weeks with multiple games on Monday evenings. In 2021, the NFL reached an agreement with ESPN to air more football broadcasts on Disney-owned networks (e.g. ESPN and ABC).

The new agreement gave ESPN and ABC the right to broadcast 23 games per season starting in 2022. This is an increase of six games over the 17 games that Disney-owned networks were able to broadcast under the previous agreement.

In order to fit the entire 23 games into an 18-week season, there are now multiple Monday Night Football games several weeks each season. This year there will be four “MNF” weeks with multiple games.

The Week 7 edition of “Monday Night Football” marks the third time this season that two NFL games will take place on Monday night. The Chargers take on the Cardinals 45 minutes into Ravens vs. Buccaneers.

There were two “MNF” games in Weeks 3 and 4: Bills-Jaguars/Commanders-Bengals and Titans-Dolphins/Lions-Seahawks.

After Week 7, there will be another “MNF” doubleheader in Week 15 with Bears vs. Vikings and Falcons vs. Raiders.

Monday Night Football: Complete 2024 MNF schedule

Monday Night Football schedule.

Two “MNF” games, interconference matchups, are scheduled for this week. The first will feature a clash between East Coast teams, while the other will feature a clash between West Coast teams.

Game 1

Both the Ravens and Buccaneers started the season 4-2. Every team has clear goals for a playoff spot and a division title this season.

After an 0-2 start to the season, Baltimore has won its last four games in a row. Most recently, it took a 30-23 victory over the Washington Commanders in a game in which quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for 323 yards – 132 of which went to receiver Zay Flowers – and running back Derrick Henry picked up 132 yards on the ground.

Jackson is one of the favorites to win the MVP award, while Henry is the clear favorite to win this year's Offensive Player of the Year award.

On the other side of the field, the Buccaneers earned a commanding 51-27 victory in a divisional game against the New Orleans Saints. Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 325 yards and four touchdowns (with three interceptions), and running back Sean Tucker ran for 136 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Monday night's clash will be significant for both teams' playoff and Super Bowl goals.

Game 2

Chargers vs. Cardinals airs Monday night exclusively on ESPN+.

Los Angeles is coming off its second division win of the season – a 23-16 victory over the Denver Broncos – in which running back JK Dobbins rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Quarterback Justin Herbert also threw for 237 yards and a touchdown on 21 of 34 passes.

The Cardinals lost their Week 6 game 34-13 to the Green Bay Packers, a week after defeating the San Francisco 49ers on the road. Quarterback Kyler Murray completed 22 of 32 pass attempts for 214 yards and a touchdown.

Stream Monday Night Football all season long with an ESPN+ subscription

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