Who is playing MNF on Week 2 of the NFL schedule?

The start of the Monday Night Football schedule in 2023 was certainly a memorable one. While the headlines will surround Aaron Rodgers' season-ending Achilles' injury on his fourth snap as a New York Jet, his teammates rallied for an epic 22-16 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills headlined by a walk-off punt return from rookie Xavier Gibson.

It will be hard to top the drama and theater from the Monday night opener, but ESPN will certainly hope for some more magic in Week 2. Fortunately for us, there are two cracks at some Monday night action on tap.

Who is playing on Monday Night Football in Week 2?

As part of the new NFL television contracts, ESPN has the rights to several Monday night doubleheaders over the course of the season. Week 2 will be one of those as the night features one game exclusively on ESPN and the other kicking off an hour later on ABC.

The early game is an NFC South showdown between the New Orleans Saints, who won by a point over Tennessee on Sunday, and the Carolina Panthers, who lost to Atlanta. The contest will be the first chance for most of the country to see 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young, who will be making his home debut for the Panthers on ESPN.

The 8:15 kick on ABC is an AFC North showdown between the Cleveland Browns, who beat up the Bengals in Week 1, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were crushed by the 49ers at Acrisure Stadium. Cleveland could do significant damage to Pittsburgh's chances in the AFC North with another division win, setting themselves up nicely to make a playoff push in the process.

Since there is a doubleheader, there won't be a Manningcast this week. Peyton and Eli will be back in action in Week 4.