ESPN Announces 2013 MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Lineup

The 44th season of Monday Night Football will kick off on ESPN with a doubleheader Monday, September 9 -Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins (7 p.m. ET) and Houston Texans at San Diego Chargers (10:15 p.m. / 7:15 p.m. PT). ESPN's 17-game prime time schedule in 2013 will feature all 12 playoff teams from 2012, including both the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens and NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.

The Redskins and Robert Griffin III - the hopeful opening week starter after suffering a knee injury in the playoffs - kick off the season at FedEx Field against the division rival Philadelphia Eagles and Michael Vick in the first game of ESPN's nationally televised week 1 doubleheader. Washington won the NFC East last year for the first time since 1999. The Eagles, who hold a 4-3 advantage over the Skins in seven previous MNF meetings, have high hopes for the new season under first-year head coach Chip Kelly.

In the second game, quarterback Matt Schaub and the AFC South champion Texans travel west to play Philip Rivers and the Chargers under new head coach Mike McCoy.

Play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico, analyst Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters will call the Eagles-Redskins opener, and the MNF games each week at 8:30 p.m. The commentators for the West Coast game will be announced at a later date.

All ESPN MNF games will be available on tablets and computers via WatchESPN. ESPN Deportes, ESPN's 24-hour Spanish-language domestic sports network, will also continue to offer a Spanish-language production of MNF games during the 2013 NFL season. Additional MNF "game around the game" content will be available throughout the day across ESPN's multimedia platforms, including the Monday Night Countdown pregame and post-game SportsCenter. The week-by-week MNF schedule:

ESPN's 2013 Monday Night Football Schedule
Preseason
Aug. 8 8 p.m. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons
Aug. 15 8 p.m. San Diego Chargers vs. Chicago Bears
Aug. 19 8 p.m. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Washington Redskins
Aug. 22 8 p.m. Carolina Panthers vs. Baltimore Ravens

Regular Season
Sept. 9 7 p.m. Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins
10:15 p.m. Houston Texans vs. San Diego Chargers
Sept. 16 8:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Sept. 23 8:30 p.m. Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos
Sept. 30 8:30 p.m. Miami Dolphins vs. New Orleans Saints
Oct. 7 8:30 p.m. New York Jets vs. Atlanta Falcons
Oct. 14 8:30 p.m. Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers
Oct. 21 8:30 p.m. Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Giants
Oct. 28 8:30 p.m. Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams
Nov. 4 8:30 p.m. Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers
Nov. 11 8:30 p.m. Miami Dolphins vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Nov. 18 8:30 p.m. New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers
Nov. 25 8:30 p.m. San Francisco 49ers vs. Washington Redskins
Dec. 2 8:30 p.m. New Orleans Saints vs. Seattle Seahawks
Dec. 9 8:30 p.m. Dallas Cowboys vs. Chicago Bears
Dec. 16 8:30 p.m. Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit Lions
Dec. 23 8:30 p.m. Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers

ESPN's Monday Night Football is the most-watched series in cable television history. In seven seasons on ESPN, MNF has registered five of the top 10 all-time biggest household audiences in cable history. For the 2012 season, ESPN's MNF delivered 12 of the 20 biggest household audiences (and 11 of the top 20 among viewers) for cable television in 2012, averaging a 9.5 rating (8.2 US rating) and 9,325,000 homes (12,826,000 viewers).

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