1st monday night football game 2012

Consequently, I have a feeling we're going to see those packages get absolutely destroyed by the Texans. The Texans are going to be a very dangerous team in They have a loaded offense that will be at full strength with Matt Schaub back at the helm.

The Jets will need to have a strong defense in if they hope to contend, as they simply have no idea what they're going to get out of their offense. He'll be featured on MNF early and often in The Chargers aren't quite as menacing as the Falcons, which is good news for Manning and the Broncos.

Manning should be able to pick apart a Chargers defense that underachieved in , and he should be able to put points on the board.

The trouble is that Rivers will be able to do those exact same things. The Broncos are going to be strong defensively in , but Rivers is going to be much, much better than he was in I get the feeling that this game will end up being one of the more exciting MNF tilts.

I'll take the Broncos to win a big one on the road. The Lions will be a team to watch in They rode their explosive offense to a win season in , and their offense isn't going to be any less explosive this season. It all revolves around the connection between Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. Very few, if any, corners are capable of guarding Megatron one-on-one, and nobody can beat him in a jump-ball situation. However, the Lions weren't good enough to beat the Bears at Soldier Field last season.

The Bears intercepted Stafford four times, and the Lions lost their composure late in the game. The Bears will have to be similarly tough against Stafford in this game, and they'll also need to protect Jay Cutler from Detroit's brutal pass rush. The 49ers were the class of the NFC West in , and it wasn't close. They rode their dominant defense to a win season and a division title. The 49ers are going to have some competition in The Seahawks will be tough, and so will the Cardinals.

Not a whole lot of people noticed, but the Cardinals finished the season playing very good football. We're going to know by Week 8 if Kevin Kolb is the answer at quarterback for the Cardinals. He was injured for much of the season, and he was ineffective when he wasn't hurt. In order for the Cardinals to challenge the 49ers in the division, Kolb needs to be better.

I don't have much faith in Kolb. I'll have even less faith in him when the Cardinals step out onto the field to play the 49ers. The Eagles were without a doubt the most disappointing team in the NFL last season.

After all the hype they generated during the offseason, they ended up going and missing out on the playoffs. Don't expect the Eagles to be that mediocre again.

They're not going to have any problems on offense, and their defense should be much stronger. The trade for DeMeco Ryans is one of the most important transactions of this offseason, as he's the middle linebacker the Eagles needed last season.

The Saints are going to be under the microscope in They'll be without Sean Payton, and everyone will be expecting their defensive players to be on their best behavior. That's a disadvantage, as the refs will surely throw flags at the slightest hint of an illegal hit. It's a good thing the Saints still have Drew Brees.

As long as they have him, they have a chance to contend. Of course, the Chiefs ended up being a surprisingly dangerous team in despite suffering a lot of key injuries and firing their head coach before the end of the season. In , they'll look to get back to playing good defense and pounding away with the run on offense. The Chiefs will have the personnel to do just that.

They had all the Monday Night people back up there from the first game and other years. They had a ball encased and my son was just overcome with it. Andrews was the football hero on that night. His game-clinching interception was the first in his eight-year career and his only touchdown. That single play changed his life. But not in the way you might think. Finding meaning: Andrews was a 13th-round draft choice of the Browns in out of Southeastern Louisiana. Andrews did not even start in the first Monday Night Football game, which was the opening game of the season.

He came in at outside linebacker after an injury to starter Dale Lindsey. When that game happened, it was like all of my dreams, all of my ambitions, and everything, was fulfilled because I became a starter and had recognition.

But what I realized was it was not what it was cracked up to be. But I was an empty person. I had pursued this and there was nowhere else for me to go, and I turned to Christ to find satisfaction in life. He started 10 games the rest of the season. The next year he was named Browns defensive player of the year by the Cleveland Touchdown Club. Ahead of their Week 17 matchup, watch the San Francisco 49ers' greatest five plays against the Houston Texans. Ahead of their Week 17 matchup, relive the Cincinnati Bengals ending the Kansas City Chiefs' undefeated season in Ahead of their Week 17 matchup, watch highlights from when former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss recorded 5 receptions for yards and 2 touchdowns in Week 5 of his rookie season against the Packers in Ahead of their Week 17 matchup, watch the Cleveland Browns' greatest five plays against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ahead of their Week 17 matchup, watch the Pittsburgh Steelers' greatest five plays against the Cleveland Browns. Ahead of their Week 17 matchup, watch the Baltimore Ravens' greatest five plays against the Rams. From lucky catches to the easiest pick-sixes, watch the greatest gift-wrapped touchdowns in NFL history. NFL Throwback.