{"id":263614,"date":"2025-09-29T10:56:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T10:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/263614\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T10:56:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T10:56:14","slug":"another-monday-night-football-doubleheader-why-jets-dolphins-and-bengals-broncos-overlap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/263614\/","title":{"rendered":"Another \u2018Monday Night Football\u2019 doubleheader: Why Jets-Dolphins and Bengals-Broncos overlap"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Jets-Miami Dolphins pairing on \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d is a landing space for weirdness and entropy. The Cincinnati Bengals are consistently unpredictable, and the Denver Broncos have one of the NFL\u2019s coolest home setups. These matchups back-to-back would be sufficient for a Monday night, especially after such a crowded sports weekend<\/a>. So, naturally, they\u2019re getting stacked on top of each other.<\/p>\n

Like Week 2 of the NFL season, Week 4 concludes with dual MNF offerings. Unlike Week 2, this Monday\u2019s kickoffs are separated by just one hour, meaning there\u2019s a lot of overlap between the two games.\u00a0Here\u2019s a quick refresher on why there are two Monday games on certain weeks, plus the differences between ABC and ESPN broadcasts.<\/p>\n

Week 4 MNF viewing guide<\/p>\n

Watching in person?<\/strong> Get tickets on StubHub<\/a>.<\/p>\nGameTime (ET)TVStreaming<\/tr>\n\n\n

Jets at Dolphins<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

7:15 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

ESPN<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n

Bengals at Broncos<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

8:15 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

ABC<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

ABC is available free over the air. All ABC and ESPN content streams on ESPN\u2019s new direct-to-consumer service<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why MNF doubleheaders (sometimes) overlap<\/p>\n

The NFL\u2019s 2021 television rights deal<\/a> increased the number of games on ABC\/ESPN (both part of The Walt Disney Company). This year, that includes 23 regular-season matchups and two more in the postseason. There are only 18 weeks in a season, and ABC\/ESPN only does Monday nights (until Saturday in Week 18), so there wasn\u2019t much else to do for resolution here.<\/p>\n

Some MNF doubleheaders run one after another, like Bucs vs. Texans followed by Chargers vs. Raiders two weeks ago. Others, like this week, run concurrently, with one game exclusively on ABC and the other on ESPN. It\u2019s still new, as the stacked broadcast format began late in the 2023<\/a> season.<\/p>\n

There are perceived benefits and problems with each format. The Week 2 back-to-back setup allows fans to focus on one game at a time and avoid split-screen overstimulation. It does mean that the second game starts late, around 10 p.m. for viewers on the East Coast.<\/p>\n

The Week 4 concurrent setup avoids the after-midnight finish for those fans, and it gives the main MNF window two chances at landing a hit. It also requires a more attentive viewer, and it potentially bifurcates the audience if both games are good. Apparently, that A\/B testing is part of the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to learn more about what optimizes best,\u201d ESPN president of content Burke Magnus told The Athletic\u2019s Richard Deitsch<\/a> in 2023. \u201cThe thought there is, can we combine total audience and do a little bit like we used to do in the old days of college football where we create a simultaneous national and regional appeal and use our networks to do that in a single window? Then it combines to sort of like a super audience total number.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of the business of two games at once, there is no \u201cManningCast\u201d this week.<\/p>\n

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins<\/p>\n

These two made the \u201cMonday Night Miracle,\u201d proper noun and everything, back in 2000. New York scored 30 points in a delirious fourth quarter to force overtime, then hit a field goal to walk it off with a 40-37 win. That ending sequence deserves a rewatch<\/a>, if you\u2019re into the whole \u201cI can\u2019t believe what I just saw, wow, the human spirit is unbreakable\u201d kind of thing.<\/p>\n

The current matchup looks a lot less exciting because the AFC East rivals are a combined 0-6 so far. To the Jets\u2019 credit, two of their three losses came from late field goals, and the third loss was to the Buffalo Bills, who are very good at football. New Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is still seeking his first win.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins took an all-time dispiriting L in their 2025 opener to the Indianapolis Colts, the kind that prompts a players-only meeting<\/a> after Week 1. They\u2019ve been closer in the subsequent weeks (33-27 versus the New England Patriots and 31-21 against those juggernaut Bills), but head coach Mike McDaniel is still on the hottest of hot seats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New York quarterback Justin Fields returns<\/a> this week, after missing last Sunday\u2019s action with a concussion. Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa has already thrown four interceptions, tied for second-most in the league after Week 3. If nothing else, we\u2019ll get flashes of wide receiver greatness. Jets wideout Garrett Wilson came into the week ranked in the top 10 in receiving yards (229), and the Dolphins have an accomplished (if slumping) duo in Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill.<\/p>\n

This game is on ESPN, and it has the secondary broadcast team of Chris Fowler, Dan Orlovsky and Louis Riddick.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos<\/p>\n

A clash of orange uniforms feels right as we approach October. Cincinnati is 2-1, which is good, but it will have to keep winning without franchise cornerstone and incumbent NFL passing leader Joe Burrow, which is bad. The Bengals still employ Ja\u2019Marr Chase, who is a nightmare mismatch regardless of his quarterback. With a big night in Denver, Chase would become the first player in NFL history with at least 100 receiving yards in each of his first five \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d appearances.<\/p>\n

Jake Browning captained a 92-yard game-winning drive in immediate relief of Burrow two weeks ago against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But then he had a disastrous day up in Minnesota last Sunday in a blowout loss to the Vikings. Browning entered the week as the league leader in INTs with five, despite coming in midway through the second game.<\/p>\n

On the opposite side of Chase is Pat Surtain II, the Broncos\u2019 magnetic cornerback and the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Denver is feeling some pressure in the altitude with a 1-2 start, though it is two buzzer-beating kicks (and one \u201cleverage<\/a>\u201d penalty) away from a 3-0 record. The Broncos defense is exhilarating off the edge: Nik Bonitto, Justin Strnad and Jonathon Cooper all have multiple sacks in the early going.<\/p>\n

This game is on ABC, so it is free over the air and gets the lead booth duo of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.<\/p>\n

The full MNF doubleheader schedule<\/p>\n

Here are the MNF two-parters for 2025, all times ET:<\/p>\n

Week 2 (Monday, Sept. 15)<\/strong>
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20, Houston Texans 19
Los Angeles Chargers 20, Las Vegas Raiders 9<\/p>\n

Week 4 (Monday, Sept. 29)
<\/strong>New York Jets at Miami Dolphins: 7:15 p.m., ESPN only
Cincinnati Bengals at Denver Broncos: 8:15 p.m., ABC only<\/p>\n

Week 6 (Monday, Oct. 13)
<\/strong>Buffalo Bills at Atlanta Falcons: 7:15 p.m., ESPN only
Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders: 8:15 p.m., ABC only<\/p>\n

Week 7 (Monday, Oct. 20)
<\/strong>Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions: 7 p.m., ABC and ESPN
Houston Texans at Seattle Seahawks: 10 p.m., ESPN only<\/p>\n

Week 18 (Saturday, Jan. 3)<\/strong>
TBD: 4:30 p.m., ABC and ESPN
TBD: 8 p.m., ABC and ESPN<\/p>\n

Updated MNF odds<\/p>\n

Streaming and ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.<\/p>\n

(Photo of Ja\u2019Marr Chase: Andy Lyons \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Jets-Miami Dolphins pairing on \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d is a landing space for weirdness and entropy.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":263615,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[8997,8999,1318,9003,1317,1315,1316,5287,1232,62,8930,222,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-263614","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","9":"tag-denver-broncos","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-miami-dolphins","12":"tag-ncaa","13":"tag-ncaa-football","14":"tag-ncaafootball","15":"tag-new-york-jets","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-sports-betting","19":"tag-sports-business","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115287227360284024","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}