ESPN To Use Different Broadcast Team For 'MNF' Opener

ESPN play-by-play voice Beth Mowins, analyst Brian Griese and sideline reporter Laura Rutledge will call the New York Jets vs. Detroit Lions NFL game from Ford Field to kick off ESPN’s season-opening Monday Night Football doubleheader on Sept. 10.

Mowins returns to ESPN’s NFL booth for the second straight year. In 2017, she became the first female announcer to call a National Football League game in 30 years and the first female broadcaster to call a nationally televised NFL game when she handled the play-by-play for ESPN’s Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos telecast to open the season. Mowins also called four more NFL games for CBS in 2017.

The Jets-Lions game (7:10 p.m. ET) will lead into the Los Angeles Rams vs. Oakland Raiders game (10:15 p.m.) when ESPN’s new MNF team of Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland and Lisa Salters will make its debut. MNF Schedule.

Beth Mowins

“Beth will continue her groundbreaking NFL role calling another prime time game on Monday Night Football with Brian, whose experience in the league combined with his ability as a broadcaster makes him a natural fit for this assignment,” said Stephanie Druley, Senior Vice President, ESPN events and studio production. “Joined by Laura on the sidelines, this talented and entertaining team will kick off our NFL opening night on ESPN.”

Beth Mowins

A veteran and pioneering broadcaster, Mowins joined ESPN as a play-by-play commentator in 1994. She has called college football games since 2005 and is a staple on ESPN’s regular-season men’s and women’s basketball schedules. She has called NCAA Championships in basketball, softball, soccer and volleyball and has been the voice of the Women’s College World Series for more than 20 years, among other assignments. She has also called Oakland Raiders preseason NFL games in the Bay Area since 2015, in addition to regular-season NFL games for CBS.

Brian Griese

Brian Griese

A top ESPN college football analyst since 2009, Griese just signed a new multi-year extension with the company. He played 11 NFL seasons (1998-2009), most notably with the Denver Broncos, who selected him in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. An AFC Pro Bowl selection in 2000 and a member of the Super Bowl XXXIII-winning Broncos, Griese holds the single-season passer rating records for both Denver and Tampa Bay, and won the NFL passing title in 2000 with a 102.9 quarterback rating. He and his father, legendary Dolphins quarterback and former ABC Sports broadcaster Bob Griese, are the only father/son quarterback combination in NFL history to win Super Bowl titles. In addition to his work with ESPN, Griese will call 2018 Broncos preseason NFL games locally in Denver with his ESPN booth partner, Steve Levy.

Laura Rutledge

Laura Rutledge

Rutledge joined ESPN in 2014 as an SEC Network reporter. She covers a wide range of Southeastern Conference and national college sports – football, basketball, softball and baseball – in addition to hosting the traveling SEC Nation pregame show and SEC Now. In 2016, she began working on ESPN’s Thursday night college football games. She has also anchored editions of SportsCenter and just signed a new multi-year extension.

ESPN senior coordinating producer Tim Corrigan, ESPN/ABC’s lead NBA producer, will again oversee production of the MNF doubleheader game.