Chargers, Steelers Go Under The Lights Next Week On MNF

Courtesy: ESPN

Next Monday night ESPN will feature an inter-divisional matchup between two AFC opponents on Monday Night Football.

Next week’s edition of Monday Night Football will feature an AFC inter-divisional matchup when the 2 – 2 San Diego Chargers host the Pittsburgh Steelers, who also currently sit at 2 – 2 so far on the season. Monday’s matchup between the Chargers and Steelers is sure to be a big one as both teams come into Monday night’s game on the heels of their own wins over the Browns and Ravens respectively. Both wins were by the slimmest of margins, too with Pittsburgh coming up short in overtime 23 – 20 while the Chargers edged the Browns 30 – 27 in regulation in a hard-fought back and forth battle between the AFC opponents. San Diego QB Phillip Rivers went 23 of 38 in the Chargers’ win, throwing for a total of 358 yards and three TDs while Cleveland’s Josh McCown was just as impressive throwing 32 of 41 for a total of 356 yards and two TDs. Looking at the Steelers’ matchup against the Ravens, Steelers QB Michael Vick outperformed Baltimore’s Joe Flacco completing 19 of 26 passes for a total of 124 yards and just 1 TD. By comparison Flacco completed 20 of 33 passes for a total of 189 yards but still finished the game with just 1 TD. The Chargers and Browns were almost as evenly matched carrying the ball. By the numbers this all means that Monday’s matchup between the Steelers and Chargers is bound to be a big one for both teams. Kickoff for Monday’s game is currently scheduled for 8:15pm ET. Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will be in the booth for the call while Lisa Salters will also be on hand for additional commentary.

Ahead of Monday night’s broadcast, Suzy Kolber and Chris Berman will co-anchor Monday Night Countdown on ESPN. Suzy Kolber will be live in San Diego and will be joined by Trent Dilfer, Ray Lewis, and Steve Young while Berman will be live from ESPN’s studios. He will be joined by ESPN NFL analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, and ESPN Insiders Christ Mortensen and Adam Schefter. Mortensen and Schefter will look back at this Sunday’s games during the broadcast and look ahead to Monday night’s game, too. Monday’s game will be broadcast in Spanish on ESPN Deportes for the network’s Spanish-speaking viewers and will also be simulcast online via WatchESPN for those that won’t be near a television during the game’s broadcast. More information on ESPN’s upcoming MNF broadcast is available online now along with all of the latest NFL headlines at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl/mnf

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MNF

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Bengals Host Broncos Monday Night On ESPN In Pivotal Playoff Game

Courtesy: ESPN

Next Monday night, Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals will play what is one of the most important games of the season for the team when it plays host to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

Cincinnati and Denver will face off at Paul brown Stadium Monday night on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. The Broncos (11 – 3) have already clinched the AFC West title. So for Denver, Monday night’s game will be a tune-up for the playoffs. For Cincinnati though, Monday night’s game means much more. Cincinnati currently sits at 9 – 4 – 1 on the season coming into Monday night’s game. And even if the Bengals win, it doesn’t guarantee a playoff spot for the team or even the division title. A handful of scenarios have to play out for Cincinnati to get the AFC North division title. And almost all of them require Cincinnati to win out at least Monday night.

The first way that Cincinnati can snag the AFC North title is to win out both Monday night and against the Steelers in Week 17. The second way that the Bengals can clinch the division title is to win at least one game between this week and next week and losses by both the Steelers and Ravens. In order to clinch a playoff spot, one of two scenarios has to happen. The first scenario is a win at least this week or next week against Pittsburgh. The other scenario would allow Cincinnati to lose both this week and next ONLY IF Kansas City, San Diego and Buffalo all lose at least once between this week and next. Making Monday night’s game all the more important for Cincinnati is the teams prime time record. Cincy is 18 – 41 all time in prime-time and 10 – 20 on Monday Night.  Taking an even deeper look at the teams’ numbers, Denver is only 4 – 3 on the road versus going undefeated at home. The team has gone 4 – 1 – 0 in its last five game. Cincy has only one more win on the road than at home, going 5 – 2 – 0 on the road and 4 – 2 – 1 at home. It is also 4 – 1 – 0 in its last five games. So it goes without saying that Monday night’s game will be one of the most important of the season for Cincinnati.

Adding to the interest of Monday’s games is talk of long term impacts of hits on Peyton this season and what it might mean in regards to his off season surgery. Manning will sit down with ESPN Monday Night Football play-by-play man Mike Tirico to discuss that and more as part of the night’s pre-game broadcast.  Sideline reporter Lisa Salters will have a discussion with Bengals QB Andy Dalton on the other side of the ball. She and Dalton will discuss what a win tonight would mean both for him and his teammates and getting over the playoff hurdles of the past three seasons among other topics. Both interviews are part of Monday’s pre-game show Monday Night Countdown. Suzy Kolber will anchor Monday night’s broadcast. She will be joined by NFL analysts Trent Dilfer, Ray Lewis, and Steve Young live on-site. Chris Berman will anchor live from ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Connecticut. He will be joined by NFL analysts Cris Carter, Mike Ditka, Tom Jackson, and Keyshawn Johnson and ESPN NFL Insiders Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. Monday Night Countdown kicks off at 6pm ET.

Kickoff for Monday night’s game is scheduled for 8:15pm ET. Mike Tirico will have the call from the booth. He will be joined by Jon Gruden, who just last week agreed to a contract extension with ESPN. The extension will keep Gruden in the booth alongside Mike Tirico through 2021, when ESPN’s next contract with the NFL comes up. Lisa Salters will be on the sidelines for Monday night’s game with all of the latest in-game news and reports. Monday Night Football is available for ESPN’s Spanish-speaking fans on ESPN Deportes and online via WatchESPN for those with video subscriptions from affiliated providers. More information on Mondays’ game and on all things NFL is available online at:

Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl/mnf
http://espn.go.com/nfl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MNF
http://www.facebook.com/NFLonESPN

To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.