David's Top 10 Monday Night Matchups For 2020

The global pandemic has put a halt to the sports world at the moment but that doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to discuss. The NFL schedule was recently released and that gives us something to talk about. I have already gone over my Top 10 Thursday Night games and my Top 10 Sunday Night games for the upcoming season. Today, I will be taking a look at the Top 10 Monday Night Football games for the 2020 season.

10) Los Angeles Chargers at New Orleans Saints, October 10th

In looking over the Monday night schedule this year, there were just about five or six really good games. It seemed like Thursday and Sunday night games had many better matchups. That left me kind of scrambling for some games at the bottom of the list. I am going from 10 down to 1, so this is the bottom of the list. I did choose this one because it is game five of the season for the Bolts and by this time we should have a good idea of the kind of QB that Justin Herbert is. If he pans out as the Bolts are hoping, then it could be a shootout between him and Brees. No matter what, I do feel like this will be a good game.

9) Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns, December 14th

This game is deep in the season and the Ravens could very well have the division wrapped up by then. Still, they should be in a fight for the number one seed in the AFC while the Browns should be fighting for a wildcard slot. Is this the year Cleveland finally breaks through. They have a very solid offense and the defense has improved. Freddie Kitchens was a horrible coach for the Browns last year and they are hoping that Kevin Stefanski can inject new life into this proud team. The Ravens are good again and they are one of the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. This game is in Cleveland and that should make it a much closer contest than if it was in Baltimore.

8) New Orleans Saints at Oakland Raiders, September 21st

The Las Vegas Raiders will not be a playoff team this year but this should still be a good game. It is early in the season when both teams are healthy, plus this will be the home opener for the Raiders in their new home town. That right there will stir up plenty of excitement. We also have a Las Vegas team that has a good offense and will be facing a New Orleans team that also can light up the scoreboard. I would expect to see very little defense in this one.

7) Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, November 23rd

This one has a chance to be a good game and it will pit the high-octane offense of the Bucs against the stellar defense of the Rams. Tom Brady is now apart of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he has plenty of weapons to work with on this offense. The Rams also have a good offense but they could be led by their defense this year. The Rams also have revenge on their minds after losing 55-40 to the Bucs a year ago. Even though the Rams will have a good defense, the last three games in this series have averaged 72.7 ppg, so we could very well see a shootout here.

6) Arizona Cardinals vs Dallas Cowboys, October 19th

The Arizona Cardinals will most likely not be a playoff team this year but they are an improved squad and should have a nice game against the Cowboys in this one. The Cardinals will have an explosive offense now that they have added DeAndre Hopkins and Kyler Murray is in his 2nd season. The defense is not good but they will have an offense that can keep up with Dallas’ offense which will be one of the best in the league this year. Both teams will keep the scoreboard operator very busy in this one.


5) Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears, November 16th

Defense always seems to be the name of the game when these teams hook up as the last six meetings have averaged just 35.2 ppg. That could be the same thing that happens here. The Vikings do have a very solid offense but the Bears will have one of the best defenses in the league this year. Minnesota also will have a very solid defense and Chicago’s offense has a long way to go to be respectable. This is also a division game and both teams should still be in the hunt for a playoff berth at this point in the season. This should be a tough NFC North defensive battle.

4) Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles, November 30th

This game is a rematch of last year’s Wildcard Round matchup which saw the Seahawks win on the road by a score of 17-9. The offense for the eagles never got going and that was because Carson Wentz was knocked out of the game early on. He will be looking for redemption in this one. The Eagles are not the best team in the NFC East but they should still be in the hunt for a wildcard berth this year, at the very least. The Seahawks are the 2nd best team in the NFC West and they will also be fighting for a wildcard berth. Can the Eagles get revenge for last year’s tough playoff loss? We shall see.

3) Buffalo Bills vs New England Patriots, December, 21st

This is the final Monday night game of the year and it could very well be for all the Marbles in the AFC East. I know the teams still have one more game after this one, but still, the winning of this game should at least grab the upper hand in the division. The Bills have a real shot at taking the division away from the patriots this year, especially now that Brady is gone. Big games are usually defensive battles and I see this one following suit as both teams will have very good stop units this year. We also note that the last nine games between these teams have averaged just 36.4 ppg, including just 33.5 ppg the last four. This should be a solid game all the way around.

2) Buffalo Bills at San Francisco 49ers, December, 7th

This should be one of the best interconference games of the whole year. The Buffalo Bills are an improved team and with the Patriots not having Tom Brady anymore, they have a shot at taking the AFC East. The Buffalo defense is extremely tough and it will be tested against a very good San Francisco offense. The Niners also know a thing or two about playing defense, especially at home and the Bills don’t really have an offense that will set the world on fire. This game is late in the year and the Bills will be fighting for a division title while the Niners will be fighting for a division title and possibly the top seed in the NFC. This game will be huge for both teams and that makes it one of the best Monday night games of the year.

1) Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens, September 28th

This game will be one of the best overall this year and it tops my list of Monday night games. This could also be a very early preview of the AFC Title game as these are clearly the best two teams in the AFC. The Chiefs have one of the best offenses in the league but you can’t count out the offense that the Ravens have. Their ground game will be on full force here while the Chiefs will be taking to the air. These teams met last year and the Chiefs won that game at home by a score of 33-28. Can the Ravens get a measure of revenge with a big home win in this one? I guess you’ll have to wait until September 28th to find out.