NFL Schedule 2020: Breaking down the primetime games

Monday Night Football: Worst games

The problem with filling out the Monday night schedule is that it is often limited by how many times it gets the best teams. NFL teams can only be scheduled for a maximum of five primetime appearances, so teams like the Chiefs, Cowboys and Packers can only end up on Monday night once.

Somebody has to fill the gap, and this would be an acceptable space to use the Raiders and Rams, which is the case. What’s not acceptable, however, is the combined three appearances from New York’s football teams.

The Giants have won a combined nine games over the past two seasons yet were given two Monday night home games, including the marquee slot hosting the Steelers in the first game of Week 1’s doubleheader. This team was going to get at least one primetime slot on name value alone, but putting the Giants on twice is a disaster.

The Jets are also home on Monday night this year, playing host to the New England Patriots in a rematch of the game that made Sam Darnold see ghosts in 2019. While there is no doubt that the Jets are better, they didn’t really deserve the Monday night spotlight again.