Monday Night Football Week 1: Start Times For Saints-Vikings, Broncos-Chargers

Following an eventful first NFL Sunday of 2017, Week 1 concludes with “Monday Night Football.” It’s the only doubleheader of the year as four teams make their regular-season debuts.

It starts at 7:10 p.m. EDT when the Minnesota Vikings host the New Orleans Saints. The Los Angeles Chargers visit the Denver Broncos at 10:20 p.m. EDT for the night’s final game. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN, and fans can watch them with a free live stream online with WatchESPN.

New Orleans and Minnesota will take the field looking to improve on disappointing 2016 campaigns. The two teams finished in third place in their respective divisions, failing to make the playoffs. The Vikings are three-point favorites at home, and the over/under is 48, via OddsShark.

Monday marks the return of Adrian Peterson to Minnesota, where he had played his entire NFL career. The running back was drafted by the Vikings in 2007, totaling seven seasons of at least 1,200 yards and winning one MVP award. He played just three games last year and signed with New Orleans in the offseason as a free agent, hoping to prove that he’s still one of the league’s best running backs.

The Vikings signed free-agent running back Latavius Murray in the offseason, though it appears that rookie Dalvin Cook could get the bulk of the carries as Peterson's replacement. Cook was selected with the No.41 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

New Orleans needs a win to keep pace with the rest of the NFC South, which might be the best division in football. Both the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers picked up road wins Sunday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have yet to play since their season opener was postponed because of Hurricane Irma.

The Broncos and Chargers also missed the postseason last year. Denver was unable to defend their Super Bowl title in the playoffs, going 9-7 and finishing behind the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West.

The betting odds for the second part of the doubleheader are the same as the early contest. Denver is a three-point favorite at home, and the over/under is 42.

The Broncos should still have one of the NFL’s best defenses, though they’ve got plenty of questions on the offensive side of the ball. Trevor Siemian kept his starting quarterback job in the preseason, despite putting up pedestrian numbers a year ago.

Last year was the Chargers’ last season in San Diego. In a season marred by injuries, the team went 5-11, finishing in fourth place for a second consecutive year. Philip Rivers is back for a 14th season with the franchise, and his 2016 passer rating of 87.9 was his lowest since 2007.

L.A. vs. Denver is the seventh divisional game in Week 1. The home teams went just 2-4 in those contests Sunday.

The two games will be played one night following the death of Don Ohlmeyer, who was one of the original producers of “Monday Night Football.”