Week 2 of the NFL regular season comes to a close tonight, when there will be not one, but two games played for Monday Night Football. To start the evening, the Buccaneers face the Texans at NRG stadium Stadium, with an 7 p.m. ET kickoff. Then, three hours later, at 10 p.m. ET, the Las Vegas Raiders host the Los Angeles Chargers at Allegiant Stadium in the second Monday night matchup.
Why are there two Monday Night Football games tonight?
Tonight’s MNF doubleheader is the first of four in the 2025 NFL season. MNF has been a staple of the NFL since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. At that time, it was only ABC which had the rights to televise Monday’s action and there was only one MNF game per week, while NBC and CBS broadcast the Sunday games.
From 1987 until 2006, ESPN took over the rights for Sunday Night Football. In 2006, ESPN acquired the rights for MNF in an eight-year deal and NBC took over Sunday Night Football. During those years, ESPN would broadcast 17 MNF games at 8:30 p.m. ET. and the very first MNF doubleheader was aired on September 11, 2006. The idea was to have one game on the East Coast and one on the West Coast, so in the first, the Washington Redskins hosted the Minnesota Vikings and the Oakland Raiders played the San Diego Chargers.
In 2021, ESPN, the Walt Disney Company, and the NFL signed a 10-year deal that would start in September 2023 and would increase MNF games from 17 to 23. So it’s only within the last year that ESPN has begun to broadcast MNF games on an overlapping time schedule. In 2023, there were three MNF doubleheaders, including two games in December which kicked off at the same time.
2025 NFL Monday Night Football doubleheaders
- Week 2 (Sep. 15):
- 7 p.m. ET – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Houston Texans
- 10 p.m. ET – Los Angeles Chargers vs Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 4 (Sep. 29):
- 7:15 p.m. ET – New York Jets vs Miami Dolphins
- 8:15 p.m. ET – Cincinnati Bengals vs Denver Broncos
- Week 6 (Oct. 13):
- 7:15 p.m. ET – Buffalo Bills vs Atlanta Falcons
- 8:15 p.m. ET – Chicago Bears vs Washington Commanders
- Week 7 (Oct. 20):
- 7 p.m. ET – Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Detroit Lions
- 10 p.m. ET Houston Texans vs Seattle Seahawks
Week 2 MNF: how to watch and stream
Viewers in the US will be able be able to watch the Buccaneers vs Texans live on ABC and ESPN+, while the Chargers vs Raiders will be aired on ESPN.
You’ll also be able to follow AS USA’s live-text coverage of both Week 2 MNF games.
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