ABC Sports' final Monday Night Football telecast is now 20 years old

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The Final MNF Game on ABC

The last "Monday Night Football" game to air on ABC featured the New England Patriots defeating the New York Jets 31-21 on December 26, 2005. The game was the 555th and final broadcast of the series on the network before it moved exclusively to ESPN starting the next season in 2006.

The broadcast was a celebratory event, featuring a montage of historical moments and announcers like Don Meredith, who gave a final rendition of his iconic song "Turn out the lights, the party's over". The game also marked the final MNF call for legendary play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, who was later traded to NBC in exchange for some NBCUniversal properties.

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February 5, 2006: Last Stop for the Bus

February 5, 2006, 20 years ago: Super Bowl XL is played at Ford Field in Detroit. The Seattle Seahawks were making their 1st appearance, having won the NFC Championship, after having played in the AFC from 1977 (after their 1st season, 1976, in the NFC) to 2001. They were coached by Mike Holmgren, who had coached the Green Bay Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were making their 6th appearance. They had won their 1st 4, but had won their last in 1980, and thus sought "One for the Thumb In '81," but couldn't get it. They lost their most recent appearance, in 1996.

Head coach Bill Cowher had Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. "Big Ben" had faced controversy over his treatment of women. Among his blockers was future Hall of Fame guard Alan Faneca. And a new edition of the "Steel Curtain" defense included linebackers James Farrior and Joey Porter, and future Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.

But the leading figure on the team was running back Jerome Bettis. "The Bus" was retiring after 13,662 rushing yards, 200 receptions for 1,449 yards, and 94 total touchdowns. And he was playing his last game in his hometown of Detroit.

The Seahawks scored first, on a field goal by Josh Brown. They thought they had a touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Matt Hasselback to Darrell Jackson. But the officials called a penalty on Jackson for offensive pass interference, nullifying the score. The Seahawks and their fans were furious with this call, but replays showed it was correct.

The only score in the 2nd quarter was a 1-yard run by Roehtlisberger, and it was 7-3 Steelers at the half. Early in the 2nd half, Willie Parker broke off a 75-yard touchdown run to put the Steelers up 14-3. Hasselback threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens, and the 3rd quarter ended with Seattle down just 14-10.

In the 4th quarter, Seattle right tackle Sean Locklear was called for holding Steelers linebacker Clark Haggans, nullifying a deep pass that would have put the Hawks in position to take the lead. Seattle and their fans were furious with this call as well, but, again, the replay proved the call to be correct. Also disputed was a penalty called on Hasselbeck for an illegal block below the waist, while making a tackle during Ike Taylor's interception return.

With 8:56 left in the game, the Steelers tried some trickery: A reverse got the ball to receiver Antwaan Randle El, who had been a quarterback at Indiana University. He threw an option pass to Hines Ward, who took it 43 yards for a touchdown. It was the 1st touchdown pass by a receiver in a Super Bowl, and it made the score 21-10 Pittsburgh. That score held, as good clock management on offense and strong defense got the Steelers their "One for the Thumb."

The retiring Bettis rushed 14 times for 43 yards. He did not score a touchdown, but he converted a key first down, and allowed his team to run time off the clock late in the 4th quarter.

The Seahawks had more 1st downs, 20-14; more net yards, 396-339; fewer turnovers, 2-1; and more time of possession, 33:02-26:58. It was argued that the difference was penalties: The Hawks were penalized 7 times for 70 yards; the Steelers, 3 times for 20 yards.

But there were also 2 questionable calls that hurt the Steelers, and these were equally justified by instant replay. It wasn't the officials that cost the Seahawks the game: It was the Steelers getting the job done that did that.

The Steelers won a 6th Super Bowl 3 years later. The Seahawks finally won their 1st Super Bowl in 2014.

This was the final "pure" ABC Sports branded telecast of a National Football League game. It was also, Al Michaels' final on-air assignment for ABC after being there since I believe, 1977 and on Monday Night Football since 1986. Come the following season, Michaels and John Madden, would move over to NBC to launch Sunday Night Football for the network.