Monday Night Football may not quite have the lustre of days gone by (that could be about to change, more on that later) but it’s still a must-see primetime matchup and we have predictions for every single week.
We will have predictions for every single game of the 2022 NFL season and we are on to Week 17 and what might be the game of the year so far on MNF.
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Week 17 MNF Predictions & Best Bets
Buffalo Bills vs Cincinnati Bengals (Monday January 2, 8.15pm ET, ESPN/ABC)
What an absolute beauty to kick off 2023 on MNF. The 11-4 Bengals host the 12-3 Bills with an AFC North title and potentially homefield advantage throughout the playoffs all on the line.
Buffalo is a 1.5-point favorite heading into gameday, and here are our free predictions:
Tyler Boyd Over 35.5 Receiving Yards (-110, bet365)
Boyd is probably WR3 right now for the streaking Bengals, but the Buffalo Bills cannot cover everybody on Monday night. Time for Joe Burrow to hand Tyler some love.
Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will draw most of the attention from the Bills secondary, leaving Boyd with some nice matchups and the potential to get open and often. The line for Tyler’s receiving yards is pretty measly at 35.5 and we love his chances of going over that in a game which should be an epic shootout.
James Cook Over 9.5 Receiving Yards (-110, bet365)
Cook is finally putting it all together to grow into a key role in the Buffalo offense, and he can do it all. A dynamic threat on the ground and also catching passes out of the backfield.
In the recent big win over the Patriots in Foxboro, Cook caught 6 balls for 41 yards and was a really nice outlet for Josh Allen. That sort of output is a nice blueprint for a game in which the Bills will need all the explosive offense they can get. The line here makes this well worth a shot – it’s effectively one catch…
Josh Allen Anytime Touchdown (+150, BetMGM)
Allen is a big-game player and now is his time to shine. When the big prizes were on the line last season. hewas huge, and now it is the moment of truth once again.
Buffalo really needs this one to stay ahead of Kansas City in the battle for the number 1 seed in the AFC, likely determining the venue for their expected meeting in the Championship game later this month.
Josh provides a terrific dual threat for opposing defenses to plan for, and he has scored on the ground in three f his last five starts. Expect his big body to find the endzone again in Cincinnati.
OddsCritic Monday Night Football Predictions for Bills vs Bengals in Week 17
- Tyler Boyd Over 35.5 Receiving Yards (-110, bet365)
- James Cook Over 9.5 Receiving Yards (-110, bet365)
- Josh Allen Anytime Touchdown (+150, BetMGM)
NB: Odds correct when predictions made at 0900 ET on Monday January 2, 2023
Inactives for Monday Night Football
Bills vs Bengals:
Buffalo Bills
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Cincinnati Bengals
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Monday Night Football Schedule 2022
The full NFL schedule for 2022 is official, and here it is. Kickoff time is 8.15pm ET unless stated:
Week 1
- Monday September 12, 2022: Denver Broncos 16-17 Seattle Seahawks
Week 2
- Monday September 19, 2022: Tennessee Titans 7-41 Buffalo Bills (7.15pm ET)
- Monday September 19, 2022: Minnesota Vikings 7-24 Philadelphia Eagles (8.30pm ET)
Week 3
- Monday September 26, 2022: Dallas Cowboys 23-16 New York Giants
Week 4
- Monday October 3, 2022: Los Angeles Rams 9-24 San Francisco 49ers
Week 5
- Monday October 10, 2022: Las Vegas Raiders 29-30 Kansas City Chiefs
Week 6
- Monday October 17, 2022 : Denver Broncos 16-19 Los Angeles Chargers (OT)
Week 7
- Monday October 24, 2022: Chicago Bears 33-14 New England Patriots
Week 8
- Monday October 31, 2022: Cincinnati Bengals 13-32 Cleveland Browns
Week 9
- Monday November 7, 2022: Baltimore Ravens 27-13 vs New Orleans Saints
Week 10
- Monday November 14, 2022: Washington Commanders 32-21 Philadelphia Eagles
Week 11
- Monday November 21, 2022: San Francisco 49ers 38-10 Arizona Cardinals
Week 12
- Monday November 28, 2022: Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 Indianapolis Colts
Week 13
- Monday December 5, 2022: New Orleans Saints 16-17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 14
- Monday December 12, 2022: New England Patriots 27-13 Arizona Cardinals
Week 15
- Monday December 19, 2022: Los Angeles Rams 12-24 Green Bay Packers
Week 16
- Monday December 26, 2022: Los Angeles Chargers 20-3 Indianapolis Colts
Week 17
- Monday January 2, 2023: Buffalo Bills (-1.5) vs Cincinnati Bengals (+1.5)
When does Monday Night Football kick off?
Kickoff for Monday Night Football is normally 8.15pm Eastern Time (7.15pm Central, 5.15pm Pacific). There are some exceptions (see above schedule).
Which TV channel shows Monday Night Football?
Monday Night Football had its halcyon years between 1970 and 2005 when it was a staple of ABC programming.
Since then the primetime matchup has aired on ESPN and it is still pretty easy to get access to.
As well as watching on cable, you can get to it via a number of streaming services including Fubo TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV and Hulu. There is also a Spanish language version of the telecast on ESPN Deportes.
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If you’re watching online, you can catch Monday Night Football on ESPN Watch on all major platforms.
The huge offseason news so far is that there will be a new high-profile duo in the commentary booth in 2022 – namely Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
The pair – who have been the number 1 team on FOX for seemingly forever – will now pair up under the brightest lights of all on the iconic Monday Night Football platform. The news was announced Friday on Instagram by Buck’s wife and an official unveiling by ESPN is believed to be imminent:
- Aikman will reportedly become the game’s highest broadcaster on a deal worth $95million over five years, surpassing another former Cowboy in Tony Romo over at CBS.
- Buck will receive a five-year deal worth $65million. Not too shabby.
The news means that NBC vet Al Michaels – who bolted Sunday Night Football after a terrific run – now appears ends up on Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime.
Meanwhile the Manning brothers Eli and Peyton proved a real hit doing an alternative telecast on ESPN2 for some games during the 2021 season. Lisa Salters currently staffs up the sideline.
During its glory days the likes of Frank Gifford, Michaels (in a previous life) and John Madden made MNF THE game of the week for America – it became an institution. Aikman and Buck coming on board returns it to something like that status for the first time in many years.
The product has lost some of its lustre in recent years – there have been some failed experiments in the booth (‘Booger’ McFarland and Jason Witten anyone?) and the schedule is often pretty average.
The lack of ability to flex games means what looks a good scheduling choice in August looks pretty awful by October. As a result MNF has fallen some way behind Sunday Night Football in the pecking order.
There have been reports that games can be flexed from Week 12 on – but it has to be done with at least 12 days’ notice. Moving a few hours on a Sunday is manageable – moving a game a full day into a work week for most of America has all sorts of knock-on…