The Cowboys tend to shine on Monday Night Football

The Cowboys will play on a Monday for the 86th time tonight when the face the Los Angeles Chargers.

Of the previous 85 games Dallas has 50 wins against 35 losses. They’ve won their last three Monday night games.

The last time the Cowboys lost on a Monday night came at home in 2020 against Arizona.

Dallas has never beaten the Cardinals at home in a Monday night game.

Ominously enough, that was also a Week 6 contest that year.

While the Cowboys are 12-16 in Week 6 road games, they are 28-18 on the road on Monday night.

Something has to give tonight at SoFi Stadium.

The Early Years

Monday Night Football debuted in 1970. Dallas played its first Monday night game on November 16th of that year.

The St. Louis Cardinals rolled into the Cotton Bowl that night and rolled over Dallas 38-0.

The Cowboys rebounded the next year on October 11th to defeat the Giants 20-13. It was the Cowboys last game at the Cotton Bowl.

Dallas would win their first two Monday night games played at Texas Stadium.

The Cowboys edged Detroit 28-24 in 1972. They routed the Saints 40-3 in the second game of the 1973 season.

Two weeks later Dallas played its first road game on Monday night, falling to the Redskins 14-7.

Dallas runs a play during a Monday night game against the Redskins in 1973.

Philadelphia would edge Dallas 13-10 at Veterans Stadium in 1974.

The Cowboys’ first Monday night road win came in 1975 with a 36-10 win over Detroit.

Dallas’ first Monday night loss at Texas Stadium came five weeks later to Kansas City. Seven turnovers doomed the Cowboys to a 34-31 loss.

Popular Prime Time Team

Beginning in 1974, the Cowboys would appear in no less than two Monday night games each year.

The streak held all the way through the end of the 1988 season. In both 1982 and 1987, they played three Monday night games.

One of the more memorable games during the run came in the regular-season finale in 1982.

Playing the Vikings at the Metrodome, Tony Dorsett ripped off a 99-yard touchdown run. Despite only 10 Cowboys being on the field for the play.

Only 10 players were on the field for Dallas on Tony Dorsett’s 99-yard touchdown run against the Vikings.

As the Cowboys were in decline, they did not appear in a Monday night game in 1989 or 1990.

The only other season – out of 54 in all – that did not have at least one Dallas game was in 2002.

Between 1992-2000, Dallas played no fewer than two Monday night games each year.

They played once in 2001 and in 2003. They played three Monday night games in 2004.

Dallas played two Monday night games in 2005.

Between 2006 and 2021 they only played once each year on Monday night.

Dallas was scheduled for just one Monday night game in 2022. Their playoff game against Tampa Bay was played on Monday night for the second appearance.

Against The NFC

With the Cowboys’ 50-35 record overall they have outscored their opponents 2055-1772.

At home, Dallas is 22-17 with a 946-823 scoring edge. On the road, the Cowboys are 28-18 with a 1,149-949 scoring lead.

Dallas has faced their three NFC rivals the most on Monday nights with the Commanders in the lead at 17.

IRVING, TX – DECEMBER 11: Quarterback Danny White #11 of the Dallas Cowboys passing in a game against the Washington Redskins on December 11, l983 in Irving, Texas. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images)

Dallas is 9-8 against Washington, 9-3 against the Giants, and 8-4 against the Eagles.

The next most-common Monday night opponent is the Cardinals at eight games.

When the franchise was in St. Louis the Cardinals won the first three, two at Texas Stadium. Dallas has since won four of the last five Monday night games.

But the Cowboys have never beaten the Cardinals at home on Monday night.

Dallas is 8-6 against the NFC West. Thanks to an 0-3 record against Chicago, the Cowboys are only 4-6 versus the NFC North.

The Cowboys are 6-2 against the NFC South for a 44-29 overall record against their 15 NFC rivals.

Fewer AFC Matchups

Tonight’s game will be just the 13th time Dallas has played an AFC team on Monday night.

The Cowboys are 3-3 at home and on the road against the AFC.

They are 2-2 against the AFC South., 0-2 record against the AFC North, and hold a 4-1 mark against the AFC East.

Golden Richard goes up for a pass in a 1975 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Cowboys have only played one AFC West team on Monday night prior to tonight – the turnover plagued 1975 loss to Kansas City in 1975.

DALLAS VS. OPPONENTS OVERALL

NFC EAST WON LOSS PF PA

NY GIANTS 9 3 350 238

PHILADELPHIA 8 4 297 270

WASHINGTON 9 8 365 308

NFC WEST WON LOSS PF PA

ARIZONA 4 4 150 162

LA RAMS 2 1 63 72

SAN FRANCISCO 1 1 59 77

SEATTLE 1 0 43 39

NFC NORTH WON LOSS PF PA

CHICAGO 0 3 52 101

DETROIT 3 1 120 75

GREEN BAY 1 0 21 6

MINNESOTA 0 2 44 58

NFC SOUTH WON LOSS PF PA

ATLANTA 2 0 65 24

CAROLINA 1 1 34 30

NEW ORLEANS 2 1 81 39

TAMPA BAY 1 0 31 14

AFC EAST WON LOSS PF PA

BUFFALO 3 0 69 48

MIAMI 0 1 21 28

NEW ENGLAND 1 0 35 21

NY JETS 0 0 0 0

AFC WEST WON LOSS PF PA

DENVER 0 0 0 0

KANSAS CITY 0 1 31 34

LAS VEGAS 0 0 0 0

LA CHARGERS 0 0 0 0

AFC NORTH WON LOSS PF PA

BALTIMORE 0 0 0 0

CINCINATTI 0 0 0 0

CLEVELAND 0 1 7 26

PITTSBURGH 0 1 28 36

AFC SOUTH WON LOSS PF PA

HOUSTON 0 0 0 0

INDIANAPOLIS 1 0 38 0

JACKSONVILLE 0 0 0 0

TENNESSEE 1 2 51 66

TOTALS 50 35 2055 1772

NFC 44 29 1775 1513

NFC EAST 26 15 1012 816

NFC WEST 8 6 315 350

NFC NORTH 4 6 237 240

NFC SOUTH 6 2 211 107

AFC 6 6 280 259

AFC EAST 4 1 125 97

AFC WEST 0 1 31 34

AFC NORTH 0 2 35 62

AFC SOUTH 2 2 89 66

DALLAS COWBOYS HOME MONDAY NIGHT RECORD

NFC EAST WON LOSS PF PA

NY GIANTS 4 2 179 152

PHILADELPHIA 5 2 202 187

WASHINGTON 4 4 162 127

NFC WEST WON LOSS PF PA

ARIZONA 0 3 27 90

LA RAMS 0 0 0 0

SAN FRANCISCO 0 0 0 0

SEATTLE 0 0 0 0

NFC NORTH WON LOSS PF PA

CHICAGO 0 1 18 34

DETROIT 2 1 84 65

GREEN BAY 1 0 21 6

MINNESOTA 0 0 0 0

NFC SOUTH WON LOSS PF PA

ATLANTA 1 0 24 7

CAROLINA 1 1 34 30

NEW ORLEANS 1 0 40 3

TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 0

AFC EAST WON LOSS PF PA

BUFFALO 2 0 44 24

MIAMI 0 0 0 0

NEW ENGLAND 0 0 0 0

NY JETS 0 0 0 0

AFC WEST WON LOSS PF PA

DENVER 0 0 0 0

KANSAS CITY 0 1 31 34

LAS VEGAS 0 0 0 0

LA CHARGERS 0 0 0 0

AFC NORTH WON LOSS PF PA

BALTIMORE 0 0 0 0

CINCINATTI 0 0 0 0

CLEVELAND 0 0 0 0

PITTSBURGH 0 1 28 36

AFC SOUTH WON LOSS PF PA

HOUSTON 0 0 0 0

INDIANAPOLIS 1 0 38 0

JACKSONVILLE 0 0 0 0

TENNESSEE 0 1 14 28

TOTALS 22 17 946 823

NFC 19 14 791 701

NFC EAST 13 8 543 466

NFC WEST 0 3 27 90

NFC NORTH 3 2 123 105

NFC SOUTH 3 1 98 40

AFC 3 3 155 122

AFC EAST 2 0 44 24

AFC WEST 0 1 31 34

AFC NORTH 0 1 28 36

AFC SOUTH 1 1 52 28

DALLAS COWBOYS ROAD MONDAY NIGHT RECORD

NFC EAST WON LOSS PF PA

NY GIANTS 5 1 171 86

PHILADELPHIA 3 2 95 83

WASHINGTON 5 4 203 181

NFC WEST WON LOSS PF PA

ARIZONA 4 1 123 72

LA RAMS 2 1 63 72

SAN FRANCISCO 1 1 59 77

SEATTLE 1 0 43 39

NFC NORTH WON LOSS PF PA

CHICAGO 0 2 34 67

DETROIT 1 0 36 10

GREEN BAY 0 0 0 0

MINNESOTA 0 2 44 58

NFC SOUTH WON LOSS PF PA

ATLANTA 1 0 41 17

CAROLINA 0 0 0 0

NEW ORLEANS 1 1 41 36

TAMPA BAY 1 0 31 14

AFC EAST WON LOSS PF PA

BUFFALO 1 0 25 24

MIAMI 0 1 21 28

NEW ENGLAND 0 1 35 21

NY JETS 0 0 0 0

AFC WEST WON LOSS PF PA

DENVER 0 0 0 0

KANSAS CITY 0 0 0 0

LAS VEGAS 0 0 0 0

LA CHARGERS 0 0 0 0

AFC NORTH WON LOSS PF PA

BALTIMORE 0 0 0 0

CINCINATTI 0 0 0 0

CLEVELAND 0 1 7 26

PITTSBURGH 0 0 0 0

AFC SOUTH WON LOSS PF PA

HOUSTON 0 0 0 0

INDIANAPOLIS 0 0 0 0

JACKSONVILLE 0 0 0 0

TENNESSEE 1 1 37 38

TOTALS 28 18 1109 949

NFC 25 15 984 812

NFC EAST 13 7 469 350

NFC WEST 8 3 288 260

NFC NORTH 1 4 114 135

NFC SOUTH 3 1 113 67

AFC 3 3 125 137

AFC EAST 2 1 81 73

AFC WEST 0 0 0 0

AFC NORTH 0 1 7 26

AFC SOUTH 1 1 37 38