Both offenses were stymied by a heavy thunderstorm which delayed kickoff for about twenty minutes; also, local high school football championship games the preceding weekend left the field in less-than-desirable shape.
(The game also marked the return of Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter to Pittsburgh where he won a Super Bowl with the Steelers in 2005.)
The December 3, New England Patriots–Baltimore Ravens game finished with 17.5 million viewers, topping the debut of corporate sibling Disney Channel's premiere of the High School Musical 2 movie as the highest-rated cable television program of all time.
[19] On September 8, Aaron Rodgers debuted as the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers in their victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
[37] Before 2000, Monday night games in December or January were played in the South, the West Coast, or domed stadiums to avoid extreme cold.
The next week featured the Minnesota Vikings hosting the Green Bay Packers marked the first time quarterback Brett Favre faced his former team.
Favre completed 24 of his 31 pass attempts for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns and became the first quarterback in NFL history to defeat all 32 current franchises.
In second place was Week 12's hyped matchup between the undefeated New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots which averaged 21.4 million viewers.
The September 26 game between the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys was the final appearance (until 2017) of Hank Williams, Jr.'s intro song "All My Rowdy Friends are Back for Monday Night (Are You Ready For Some Football)", as he would get fired from ESPN during Week 4 for comments about Adolf Hitler.
The December 19 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers was delayed twice due to power outages, one taking place before the kickoff and another during the 2nd quarter; during which the 49ers led, 6–0.
The lack of regular officials came to a head in the Week 3 Monday night game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks.
On the final play, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass toward the end zone.
Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate and Packers defender M. D. Jennings each grabbed hold of the ball.
However, the nearby officials missed Tate pushing Packers cornerback Sam Shields with both hands and causing a pass interference penalty in the process.
The game's aftermath included major discussion and focus on the play forcing the NFL to settle with the regular officials.
Controversy also hit MNF later in the season as the San Diego Chargers were accused of using a banned substance during their October 15 game with the Denver Broncos.
In contrast, Eli Manning had a good day for the Giants with a touchdown pass to cap a long 2nd quarter drive.
ESPN employee and former Chicago Bears tight end and head coach Mike Ditka had his number retired at halftime of the December 9 game versus the Dallas Cowboys.
[142] With their September 15 win over the Indianapolis Colts, the Philadelphia Eagles become the first team to start a season 2–0 after trailing 14–0 at halftime of their first two games.
The 700th game in Monday Night Football history featured the San Francisco 49ers beating the St. Louis Rams in Week 6.
For the second time in three seasons, Monday Night Football was supposed to make a trip to Mexico City, for the Kansas City Chiefs-Los Angeles Rams contest, as part of the NFL International Series, but the NFL deemed field conditions to be poor and moved the game to Los Angeles.
There was a rematch of the first MNF game, during Week 2, as the new-look Cleveland Browns faced Le'Veon Bell and the New York Jets on September 16.