ESPN will broadcast an NFL Wild Card game for the fourth consecutive year, televising the action as the Minnesota Vikings face the Los Angeles Rams. As wildfires have been devastating the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the game was moved in an interest of public safety to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., the home of the Arizona Cardinals.
The Rams are remaining the home team in the matchup and will look to eliminate the Vikings, who are the first 14-win team in NFL history to play in the Wild Card round. ESPN Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, analyst Troy Aikman and sideline reporters Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge will be on the call for the traditional broadcast airing on ESPN and ABC.
Buck and Aikman have called more than 60 NFL playoff games and six Super Bowl championships in their 23 years working together. Salters is working in her 12th NFL playoff game, while Rutledge will be on the sidelines for the fourth time in postseason play. Russell Yurk, former NFL officiating executive, is making his playoffs broadcast debut for ESPN as its rules analyst. The Monday Night Football broadcast property averaged 15 million viewers, its second most-watched season since 2006, and reached 112 million fans.
The fourth season of Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli concludes with the Wild Card Game presentation with a lineup of special guests that will be announced in the coming days. Bill Belichick, eight-time Super Bowl champion and new head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels football team, will be on the show for most of the first half. The alternate broadcast averaged 1 million viewers per episode during its 10-game regular-season slate.
ESPN studio programming will air live from State Farm Stadium, beginning with a special edition of NFL Live from 3 to 5 p.m. EST. Rutledge will host the show alongside Ryan Clark, Mina Kimes, Dan Orlovsky, Marcus Spears and Adam Schefter. One hour later, Monday Night Countdown will begin with Spears, Clark and Schefter, along with Scott Van Pelt, Jason Kelce and Michelle Beisner-Buck. The two-hour program until 8 p.m. EST, with kickoff of the matchup preceding shortly thereafter.
Ahead of the other games on Wild Card Weekend, two editions of Postseason NFL Countdown will air, both of which begin at 10 a.m. EST. Mike Greenberg will host the show with Tedy Bruschi, Rex Ryan and Alex Smith providing analysis. Schefter will contribute with insights and reports surrounding the games, and ESPN betting analyst Erin Dolan will provide information and analysis about the betting lines. Furthermore, the show will have reporters situated around the country at all of the games, including Jeff Darlington, Dan Rgaziano, Kimberley A. Martin, Sal Paolantonio and Lindsey Thiry. ESPN digital platforms are also covering Wild Card Weekend with articles available on ESPN.com and ESPN+.
A new episode of NFL Matchup will air on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. EST on ESPN followed by multiple editions of SportsCenter in the morning. Moreover, the latest edition of The Breakdown with Peyton Manning and Bill Belichick is available on ESPN+ and will air several times on ESPN2. To conclude each day, NFL Primetime will be live on ESPN+ following the last game of the night with Chris Berman and Booger McFarland.
ESPN will also be broadcasting a game within the divisional round of the playoffs as part of The Walt Disney Company’s 10-year media rights deal with the NFL, reportedly worth $2.7 billion annually. The sports media company will broadcast the Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2026 and 2030 seasons as well.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
