[Cecil Terwilliger]

Interesting article about the struggles and decline of MNF.

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/n...o17uljlbvmzf9t

Remember how the classic "Monday Night Football" always seemed to get the best game matchups? Who can forget Mike Ditka's undefeated Bears taking on Don Shula's Dolphins on Dec. 2, 1985? That classic game at the Orange Bowl (called by Gifford, Joe Namath and none other than O.J. Simpson) is still the highest-rated in Monday night game history, with a 29.6 rating.

Or Phil Simms' Giants taking on Joe Montana's 49ers on Dec. 3, 1990? That clash of two 10-1 teams featured future Hall of Famers on and off the field, including LT, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. It's the second highest-rated Monday night game ever, with a 26.9 rating.

Fast-forward nearly 30 years, and it's NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and Fox's and CBS' Sunday afternoon packages that land the best games. That's why "Sunday Night Football" has reigned as the No. 1 prime-time show a record seven straight years.

To add insult to injury, ESPN pays nearly twice as much as other NFL TV partners for the rights to Monday night: $1.9 billion a year. For that, it gets one wild-card playoff telecast and the Pro Bowl. But zero Super Bowls.

There have been whispers for years that the NFL stiff-armed ESPN as pay-back for the network's ferocious reporting on criminal players, concussions and CTE. Maybe. Maybe not. But there's little doubt that years of weak games have taken their toll on the "Monday Night Football" brand.