Which team defeated the New York Jets in the first televised prime time Monday Night Football game?

On Sept. 21, 1970, the Cleveland Browns beat the New York Jets 31-21 at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, and television history would never be the same in prime time on ABC. It was unlike anything that had been done prior. A massive crowd of 85,703 attended the game, and the national television audience would swell each week.

Former National Football (NFL) commissioner Pete Rozelle had been looking to get games aired on nights other than Sundays. He initially wanted to do the games on Fridays, but networks were concerned about how it would affect High School football games.

ABC Sports Producer Roone Arledge changed the way the NFL was presented on television that season. First off, Arledge went with double the number of cameras per game, which gave better framing and angles. It was also the first NFL broadcast to use instant replay extensively. But it was how Arledge put together the broadcast booth that altered the landscape. Instead of a play-by-play announcer and color analyst, Arledge added a third chair in the booth. When the game aired, Keith Jackson providing play-by-play, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Merideth was the analyst, and New York sports commentator Howard Cosell was added to add a controversial element to the booth.

As of 2017, with over 700 games played, Monday Night Football is one of the longest-running prime time programs ever on commercial network television, and one of the highest-rated, particularly among male viewers.