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Who plays Monday Night Football?

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Published  January 5, 2026 1:27pm PST
NFL
FOX 13 Seattle

The Brief

    • There is no Monday Night Football game on Jan. 5 to give teams entering the playoffs a fair and equal amount of rest before the Wild Card round.
    • There are six NFL Wild Card Playoff games coming up this weekend, including a game next Monday on Jan. 12.
    • While there is no NFL, the FCS National Championship football game is being played on Monday, Jan. 5.

SEATTLE - The weekend was packed with football excitement revolving around playoff races across the nation, including our own Seattle Seahawks, who clinched the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs over the San Francisco 49ers. 

But, what's next? Well, the NFL regular season officially concluded on Sunday, Jan. 4 with no Monday Night Football game on Jan. 5. 

Why is there no Monday night football game?

The NFL intentionally leaves this Monday open, to leave room for the teams entering the playoffs to have a fair and equal amount of rest before the Wild Card round begins on Jan. 10. 

When are the NFL Wild Card Playoffs?

There are six NFL Wild Card Playoff games coming up this weekend: 

On Saturday, Jan. 10, the Los Angeles Rams are playing the Carolina Panthers at 1:30 p.m. PT, and the Green Bay Packers are playing the Chicago Bears at 5:00 p.m. PT.

On Sunday, Jan. 11, the Buffalo Bills are playing the Jacksonville Jaguars at 10 a.m. PT, the San Francisco 49ers are playing the Philadelphia Eagles at 1:30 p.m. PT and the Los Angeles Chargers are playing the New England Patriots at 5:00 p.m. PT. 

While we have this week off from Monday Night Football, the final NFL Wild Card Round between the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers starts at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 12. 

Are there any football games tonight?

The big FCS National Championship between Montana State and Illinois State kicks off at 4:30 p.m. PT (7:30 p.m. ET). This could be a big game for Montana State, as the team is seeking its first FCS title since 1984. 

The FCS National Championship has livestream options available on ESPN and the ESPN app or through FUBO, DirecTV Stream or YouTube TV.

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