List of Sunday Night Football results (1987–2005)
This is a list of results of National Football League games played on ESPN Sunday Night Football and TNT Sunday Night Football . In 1987, the NFL began regularly scheduling games for Sunday nights to be aired on ESPN during the second half of the season. The league expanded these games to the entire season in 1990, though the first half of the season was televised on TNT, while ESPN continued to carry the second half. In 1998, ESPN took over the entire season's slate of games. The network also aired occasional Thursday and Saturday night games when they were scheduled (some of these games were either to avoid conflicts with the World Series, or because Sunday was Christmas Eve).
| Overtime Result |
1980s
1987
| Week | Day | Date | Visiting Team | Final Score | Host Team | Stadium | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Sunday | November 8 | New England Patriots | 10–17 | New York Giants | Giants Stadium | Giants–Patriots rivalry |
| 10 | Sunday | November 15 | Los Angeles Raiders | 14–16 | San Diego Chargers | Jack Murphy Stadium | Chargers–Raiders rivalry |
| 11 | Sunday | November 22 | Miami Dolphins | 20–14 | Dallas Cowboys | Texas Stadium | |
| 12 | Sunday | November 29 | Cleveland Browns | 24–38 | San Francisco 49ers | Candlestick Park | |
| 13 | Sunday | December 6 | Chicago Bears | 30–24 | Minnesota Vikings | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Bears–Vikings rivalry |
| 14 | Sunday | December 13 | Denver Broncos | 21–28 | Seattle Seahawks | Kingdome | Broncos–Seahawks rivalry |
| 15 | Sunday | December 20 | Washington Redskins | 21–23 | Miami Dolphins | Joe Robbie Stadium | |
| 16 | Sunday | December 27 | Los Angeles Rams | 0–48 | San Francisco 49ers | Candlestick Park | 49ers–Rams rivalry |
1988
The December 18 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams featured the Rams clinching the final NFC wild card, eliminating the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints from playoff contention. Giants quarterback Phil Simms accused the 49ers of losing intentionally to put an end to the Giants' season.
| Week | Day | Date | Visiting Team | Final Score | Host Team | Stadium | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Sunday | October 30 | Washington Redskins | 17–41 | Houston Oilers | Astrodome | |
| 10 | Sunday | November 6 | Los Angeles Raiders | 13–3 | San Diego Chargers | Jack Murphy Stadium | Chargers–Raiders rivalry |
| 11 | Sunday | November 13 | Minnesota Vikings | 43–3 | Dallas Cowboys | Texas Stadium | Cowboys–Vikings rivalry |
| 12 | Sunday | November 20 | New England Patriots | 6–3 | Miami Dolphins | Joe Robbie Stadium | Dolphins–Patriots rivalry |
| 13 | Sunday | November 27 | New York Giants | 13–12 | New Orleans Saints | Louisiana Superdome | |
| 14 | Sunday | December 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 37–34 | Houston Oilers | Astrodome | Oilers–Steelers rivalry |
| 15 | Sunday | December 11 | Denver Broncos | 14–42 | Seattle Seahawks | Kingdome | Broncos–Seahawks rivalry |
| 16 | Sunday | December 18 | Los Angeles Rams | 38–16 | San Francisco 49ers | Candlestick Park | 49ers–Rams rivalry LAR win: Clinch NFC Wild Card LAR loss: NYG NFC Wild Card, LAR eliminated |
1989
The November 5 game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins would be the only win for the Cowboys during the 1989 season.
The December 23 game was played on that day in particular because the Sunday that weekend was Christmas Eve, which the NFL avoids playing on for night games. The same thing happened in 1995 and 2000.
| Week | Day | Date | Visiting Team | Final Score | Host Team | Stadium | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Sunday | November 5 | Dallas Cowboys | 13–3 | Washington Redskins | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Cowboys–Redskins rivalry |
| 10 | Sunday | November 12 | Los Angeles Raiders | 12–14 | San Diego Chargers | Jack Murphy Stadium | Chargers–Raiders rivalry |
| 11 | Sunday | November 19 | New York Jets | 10–27 | Indianapolis Colts | Hoosier Dome | |
| 12 | Sunday | November 26 | Los Angeles Rams | 20–17 | New Orleans Saints | Louisiana Superdome | Rams–Saints rivalry |
| 13 | Sunday | December 3 | Chicago Bears | 16–27 | Minnesota Vikings | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | Bears–Vikings rivalry |
| 14 | Sunday | December 10 | New England Patriots | 10–31 | Miami Dolphins | Joe Robbie Stadium | Dolphins–Patriots rivalry |
| 15 | Sunday | December 17 | Los Angeles Raiders | 17–23 | Seattle Seahawks | Kingdome | Raiders–Seahawks rivalry |
| 16 | Saturday | December 23 | Cleveland Browns | 24–20 | Houston Oilers | Astrodome | 1988 AFC Wild Card playoff rematch Winner: AFC Central Champions Loser: Require help to clinch AFC Wild Card |
1990s
1990
Beginning this season Sunday Night Football became a full season package and begin being split between two broadcasters.
1991
1992
1993
The January 2 game between the Houston Oilers and New York Jets is best remembered for an incident near halftime when Oilers defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan punched offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.
1994
1995
1996
1997
This is the final season that TNT aired NFL games to date.
The November 23 game between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins ended in a rare 7-7 tie which was the first and only ESPN Sunday Night Football tie in series history.
1998
1999
2000s
2000
2001
2002
2003
The December 14 game between the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints is remembered for an incident where, after scoring a touchdown, Saints wide receiver Joe Horn grabbed a cell phone hidden under the goalpost padding and pretended to make a phone call. resulting in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and Horn being fined $30,000 by the NFL.