As the action on Sunday comes to a close, we are sadly one day closer to the end of the NFL season. Some teams are battling it out for playoff seeding, while others are trying to end the year on a good note. With a full slate of meaningful games now come and gone, is there Monday Night Football tonight?
Let’s take a closer look at the NFL schedule for the second to final week of the year and how things are different for this week compared to others.
Is There Monday Night Football Tonight?
The short answer to this question is no. There is no traditional Monday Night Football game tonight. Instead, the customary broadcast manned by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on ESPN was played on Saturday night, which featured the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys.
The reason for Monday Night Football being on Saturday rather than its usual spot is actually due to college football and the way their schedule falls this season with the new year.
New Year’s Day falls on a Monday, which means that the College Football Playoff gets to claim that day for itself.
Due to that unusual scheduling conflict, it left the NFL with no choice but to schedule a normal Monday night game two nights prior to Saturday night.
Saturday Games Are Not Unfamiliar for the NFL
While it may feel unusual to have a Monday Night Football game being played on a Saturday, it’s not all that uncommon for the NFL at all. In fact, this season, the NFL has been playing Saturday games since Week 15, when there were three games of action that day.
In Week 16, there were two games, then capped off by this most recent one in Week 17 between the Lions and Cowboys.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
The NFL has been forced to move things around to accommodate the College Football Playoffs, and that looks to be the case for Week 18 and the first round of the playoffs as well.
There are two semifinal New Year’s Six college football bowl games on Monday in Week 17, with Michigan and Alabama facing off in the Rose Bowl while Texas and Washington will play in the Sugar Bowl.
After those games, the only remaining college football game that concerns the NFL will be the CFP National Championship, which is played on Monday, Jan. 8. That game will also push Monday Night Football onto a Saturday to accommodate.
After that, the NFL will have the football market back to itself for the Divisional Round and beyond.
Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!