There will be two "Monday Night Football" games in Week 7 for the third time this season. Why have there been several Monday night doubleheaders in recent years?
The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, comes down to broadcasting agreements between the NFL and ESPN . This week's doubleheader will be the third of four weeks with multiple Monday night games this year. There were two such weeks back-to-back in Weeks 3 and 4, and Week 15 will be the final week with an "MNF" doubleheader in 2024.
In Week 7, the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will kick off the "Monday Night Football" action first. The Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals will begin their game 45 minutes later.
Here's what to know about this week's "Monday Night Football" doubleheaders and what to expect later this year:
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Why is there a "Monday Night Football" doubleheader?
There are more weeks with multiple Monday night games because of broadcasting agreements. In 2021, the NFL reached an agreement with ESPN to feature more football broadcasts on Disney-owned networks (e.g., ESPN and ABC).
The new agreement gave ESPN and ABC the rights to broadcast 23 games per season starting in 2022. This is a six-game increase from the 17 games the Disney-owned networks could broadcast under the previous agreement.
In order to fit in the full 23 games in an 18-week season, several weeks each season now have multiple "Monday Night Football" games. There will be four instances of multi-game "MNF" weeks this year.
The Week 7 edition of "Monday Night Football" is the third time this season that there are two NFL games on Monday night. The Chargers take on the Cardinals 45 minutes after the start of Ravens vs. Buccaneers .
There were two "MNF" games during Weeks 3 and 4: Bills-Jaguars/Commanders-Bengals and Titans-Dolphins/Lions-Seahawks.
After Week 7, there will be one more "MNF" doubleheader in Week 15 with Bears vs. Vikings and Falcons vs. Raiders .
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"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 matchup between West Coast teams.
Game 1
Both the Ravens and Buccaneers have started the season 4-2. Each team has clear aspirations for a playoff berth and a divisional title this season.
After beginning the season 0-2, Baltimore has won its last four straight. Most recently, it took a 30-23 victory over the Washington Commanders in a game where 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 among the favorites to win the MVP award, while Henry is the clear favorite for this year's Offensive Player of the Year award.
Across the field, the Buccaneers are coming off a dominant 51-27 divisional game victory over the New Orleans Saints. Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 325 yards and four touchdowns (with three interceptions as well), and running back Sean Tucker ran for 136 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Monday night's clash will be important for both teams' playoff and Super Bowl aspirations.
Game 2
Chargers vs. Cardinals will be an ESPN+ exclusive on Monday night.
Los Angeles is coming off of its second divisional win of the season - a 23-16 victory over the Denver Broncos - in which running back J.K. Dobbins tallied 96 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Quarterback Justin Herbert also threw for 237 yards and one touchdown on 21-of-34 passing.
The Cardinals dropped their Week 6 game to the Green Bay Packers, 34-13, one week after upsetting the San Francisco 49ers on the road. Quarterback Kyler Murray was 22-of-32 on pass attempts for 214 yards and a touchdown.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why is there a 'Monday Night Football' doubleheader in Week 7?
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