You know the feeling. It's late Monday night, you're looking at a half-eaten bag of chips, and the roar of the crowd through your TV speakers is the only thing keeping you awake before the Tuesday grind. Monday Night Football isn't just a game. Honestly, it’s a ritual. But with the way the NFL flexes games now and throws doubleheaders at us like confetti, keeping track of who played Monday Night Football NFL this season feels like a full-time job.
If you’re trying to settle a bet or just wondering why your coworker is moping about the Steelers' defense, you've come to the right place. We just wrapped up the most recent Monday night clash—a brutal Wild Card showdown on January 12, 2026—and the regular season that led us here was, well, a total rollercoaster.
The Most Recent Matchup: Texans vs. Steelers (Wild Card Round)
Let’s get the big one out of the way. The most recent time the lights went up for Monday night was January 12, 2026. This wasn’t just a regular season game; it was the AFC Wild Card round.
The Houston Texans went into Acrisure Stadium and absolutely dismantled the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 30-6 victory. It was ugly for the home crowd. Like, "leaving by the third quarter" ugly. This game was a historical gut-punch because it snapped Pittsburgh’s legendary 23-game home winning streak on Monday nights.
🔗 Read more: NFL Week 5 2025 Point Spreads: What Most People Get Wrong
Azeez Al-Shaair and the Texans' defense made life miserable for Aaron Rodgers—yeah, that’s right, the Steelers had Rodgers under center for this run—sacking him four times. While the headlines today are buzzing about Al-Shaair's $11,593 fine for his eye-black message, the real story for football fans was how Houston’s top-ranked defense scored two touchdowns on their own. Mike Tomlin’s postseason losing streak has now hit seven games, tying a record no coach ever wants to hold.
Who Played Monday Night Football NFL: The 2025 Regular Season Recap
If you're looking further back to see how we got here, the 2025-2026 schedule was packed with doubleheaders. The NFL has been leaning hard into those "overlap" Mondays where you have to flip between ESPN and ABC to catch everything.
The December Push
December is when the playoff picture usually gets messy, and the Monday night slate didn't disappoint.
💡 You might also like: Bethany Hamilton and the Shark: What Really Happened That Morning
- Week 16 (Dec 22): The San Francisco 49ers traveled to Indianapolis to face the Colts. The Niners took that one, moving to 11-4, while the Colts struggled without Anthony Richardson, who was sidelined with an orbital injury.
- Week 15 (Dec 15): We saw the Miami Dolphins take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers actually won this one 28-15, which at the time gave fans hope before that playoff collapse we just witnessed.
- Week 14 (Dec 8): A massive cross-conference battle between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Chargers. Justin Herbert and the Chargers managed to squeeze out a 22-19 win at SoFi Stadium.
The Mid-Season Doubleheaders
Remember those chaotic nights in September and October? The NFL scheduled four different Mondays with two games playing simultaneously or back-to-back.
Basically, if you feel like you've seen a lot of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Dallas Cowboys on Mondays, you aren't imagining things. On September 15, we had a double-dip with Bucs-Texans and Chargers-Raiders. Fast forward to October 20, and it was Bucs-Lions and Texans-Seahawks. The league clearly loves putting C.J. Stroud and Baker Mayfield in front of the prime-time cameras.
Why There Was No Game on January 5, 2026
You might have checked your TV on Monday, January 5, 2026, and found... nothing. Or maybe a sitcom rerun.
📖 Related: Simona Halep and the Reality of Tennis Player Breast Reduction
There was no Monday Night Football in Week 18. This is a standard NFL move. They want all the games with playoff implications to happen on Saturday and Sunday so that no team gets an unfair "rest" advantage heading into the Wild Card round. If the Patriots (the AFC No. 2 seed) had played on Monday while their opponent played on Saturday, that four-day gap would be a huge controversy. So, the league wraps everything up on Sunday night—this year with the Steelers beating the Ravens for the AFC North title—and skips the Monday slot.
Looking Ahead: What’s Next for the NFL Calendar?
Now that the Wild Card round has concluded with that Texans blowout, the Monday Night Football brand takes a backseat until next season. The playoffs move into the Divisional Round and the Conference Championships, which are strictly Saturday/Sunday affairs.
If you're already thinking about the 2026 season, expect the schedule release in mid-May. The NFL usually sticks to the formula of 23–25 Monday night "branded" games, including those Week 1 and mid-season doubleheaders.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
- Check the Flex: Remember that starting in Week 12, the NFL can "flex" games into or out of Monday night. Always check the official NFL app on Tuesday mornings to see if the game two weeks out has changed.
- Doubleheader Prep: When the schedule shows two games, one usually starts at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN and the other at 8:15 PM ET on ABC. You’ll need a multi-view setup or a very fast thumb on the remote.
- Wild Card Monday: The Monday night playoff game is here to stay. If your team is the #4 or #5 seed, keep your Monday night clear in January.
The Texans proved this week that the "Monday Night Curse" for road teams might finally be over. Whether you're tracking stats for fantasy or just trying to remember who won the game you fell asleep during, the 2025-2026 Monday night season was one for the history books.