Wide receiver Dave Smith of the Pittsburgh Steelers became a part of Monday Night Football lore with an infamous mistake in the October 18 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The October 25 game featured a moment of silence for Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes who died of a heart attack on the field at Tiger Stadium the previous day.
The Saints' opponents, the Kansas City Chiefs, returned to Tulane Stadium for the first time since their Super Bowl IV victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
A cameraman caught one of the few to stay in the game, who showed his disgust with the Oilers' performance by raising his middle finger, prompting Don Meredith to quip, "We're number 1 in the nation."
Ironically, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New Orleans Saints in the MNF game, then came back January 12, 1975 and ousted the Minnesota Vikings on the same field to win their first championship in franchise history.
In the regular season finale December 18, New England Patriots coach Chuck Fairbanks was not present, suspended by owner Billy Sullivan after he accepted the same position at the University of Colorado.
The November 24 game was the one where New Orleans Saints fans, watching what would become a dreadful 1–15 campaign that season, began wearing paper bags over their heads and referring to the team as the "Aints".
One night later, Sugar Ray Leonard defeated Roberto Duran in the famous 'No Mas' bout for the welterweight world boxing championship.
However, the 5-1 Broncos' offense could only muster an additional field goal as the 1-5 Packers scored two touchdowns in the second half and very nearly pulled an upset and also that game marked quarterback John Elway's Monday Night Football debut.
The October 21 Sunday special game between the New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys started at 9:45 EDT (8:45 CDT) due to ABC covering the second 1984 Ronald Reagan–Walter Mondale debate.
The Bears immediately got the ball back at the Vikings' 25-yard line on the next series on a Wilber Marshall fumble recovery, and McMahon hit Dennis McKinnon on the very first play for a touchdown.
The Broncos-Vikings game, originally to be shown on NBC, was broadcast only in Colorado and Minnesota areas as part of ABC's Monday Night Football package.
In the 1990 MNF opener, the San Francisco 49ers took on the New Orleans Saints on September 10 roughly seven months after defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV in the same stadium, the Superdome.
Super Bowl XXV is best remembered for its signature play – Scott Norwood of the Buffalo Bills missed what would have been the game-winning field goal, as it sailed wide right.
The December 28 game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers marked running back Barry Sanders's debut on Monday Night Football and the final appearance of quarterback Joe Montana's with the 49ers.
The game was played four hours after American Eagle Flight 4184, scheduled to land at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, crashed into a field in Roselawn, Indiana, killing all 64 passengers and four crew members aboard.
The December 12 game would be re-matched later that month in the Wild Card playoffs in the same stadium, on the same network, and would be the last NFL appearance for Joe Montana.
The December 19 game between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints was the first NFL start for Larry Allen, who replaced Erik Williams after he suffered season-ending injuries from an automobile accident.
Allen provided a memorable play early in the game when Saints linebacker Darion Conner intercepted a Troy Aikman pass and looked to be on his way to a breakaway touchdown.
The October 5th game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers proved to be the coming out moment for wide receiver Randy Moss in his MNF debut.
The September 27 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals is remembered for Aeneas Williams' knockdown of Steve Young that resulted in a career-ending concussion.
The January 3 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons, marked 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice's final appearance at Monday Night Football with the 49ers.
The AFC wild card game on January 8 is remembered for a lateral on a kickoff return that gave the Tennessee Titans the win against the Buffalo Bills.
Super Bowl XXXIV came down to the final play – Kevin Dyson of the Tennessee Titans was stopped just short of the end zone, preserving the victory for the St. Louis Rams.
During the October 14 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, wide receiver Terrell Owens pulled out a Sharpie following a touchdown and autographed the football.
At halftime of the October 28 game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles, the last of the fourteen clues from the ABC television series Push, Nevada was revealed.
The Philadelphia Eagles–Dallas Cowboys game drew controversy when ABC aired a risqué pregame skit featuring Eagles receiver Terrell Owens and Desperate Housewives actress Nicollette Sheridan.
Trailing 17–28 with 3:59 left, the Dolphins drove 68 yards to score on Sammy Morris' 1-yard run with 2:07 remaining, and then on a third down play, Tom Brady threw as he was being sacked by Jason Taylor.
The Atlanta Falcons became the first team to win three home games on Monday night, beating the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints.
ABC's final NFL broadcast until 2016, Super Bowl XL between the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers, was plagued by controversial calls made by officials.