ESPN planning expanded coverage for Chiefs-Eagles ‘Monday Night Football’ game

It’s not overstating things to say the biggest game of the 2023 NFL season to date will be played Monday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs, 7-2, will be host to the Eagles, 8-1, in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, and the teams have the two best records this season.

ESPN is treating this as more than their average “Monday Night Football” game as they will offer expanded coverage. Here is what the network has planned.

Extra broadcaster

The usual “Monday Night Football” broadcast crew will call the game: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the booth with Lisa Salters working as sideline reporter. But Salters will be only on the Chiefs sideline Monday, as ESPN is adding Laura Rutledge to report from the Eagles sideline.

Two sideline reporters are frequently seen in the playoffs but rarely in the regular season. ESPN’s rules analyst is John Parry.

Additional cameras

ESPN said it will be bringing additional cameras to Arrowhead, “including 4K and super slow-motion cameras, bringing their arsenal to eight total 4K/UHD cameras and 16 super slow-motion cameras positioned throughout the stadium.”

ESPN will have a drone flying at Arrowhead, along with a plane, which is usually overhead at games.

Pregame coverage

ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown,” which starts at 5 p.m., and other shows will include the following interviews, the network said.

• Michelle Beisner-Buck talks with Travis and Jason Kelce’s high school coach Michael Smith and their college coaches at the University of Cincinnati (Brian Kelly and Butch Jones) about the brothers before they reached the NFL.

• Former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith interviews Travis Kelce “to discuss the Super Bowl rematch and playing his brother again and reminisce about Kelce’s first touchdown catch which was thrown by Smith.”

• Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes talks with Jeff Darlington.

• Jeremy Schaap will focus on singer Taylor Swift, who grew up in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, as an Eagles fan, and is now a Chiefs fan, too.

• ESPN will have mic’d-up clips from Super Bowl LVII.

• The network also will have a feature on Big Charlie’s Saloon, a Chiefs bar in Philadelphia, along with stories about four Eagles offensive linemen that have been a big part of the team’s success, and Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni and the other coaches in his family.

“NFL Live,” which airs from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., and “Monday Night Countdown” will be broadcast from Arrowhead Stadium.

Laura Rutledge is host of “NFL Live” and she will be joined by Ryan Clark, Dan Orlovsky, Marcus Spears and Adam Schefter.

“Monday Night Countdown” is hosted by Scott Van Pelt. Clark, Smith, Spears, Schefter, Beisner-Buck and Robert Griffin III are part of the show.

ManningCast

Peyton and Eli Manning will be sharing their insights of the game on their “ManningCast” on ESPN2, but the brothers won’t be in KC. You can expect special guests to join the show.

SportsCenter at Arrowhead

Van Pelt will host “SportsCenter” from Arrowhead Stadium after the game, and he’ll be joined by Clark, Buck and Aikman, along with players from the victorious team.

Reports from KC

ESPN will have reporters Sal Paolantonio and Darlington in Kansas City to provide updates beginning Thursday and continuing through Monday.