We've reached October in the NFL calendar and it is starting to get late early for some teams. Monday Night Football has seen some teams pull off key wins in the early going of the campaign, but the games themselves have ranged in quality from thrilling to simply boring.
Having two teams desperate to pick up wins is always encouraging for the quality of the game, which makes Week 5 a potentially thrilling contest for Monday night. Add in the long-awaited reunion between a star and his former team and you could have the makings of a classic in the desert.
Who is playing on Monday Night Football in Week 5?
This week's Monday night spotlight goes to Las Vegas as the 2-2 Green Bay Packers hit the road for a showdown against the 1-3 Las Vegas Raiders. While NFL historians will point out that this is a classic rematch of Super Bowl II, where Green Bay defeated the then-Oakland Raiders to win Vince Lombardi's final championship, there is a more modern revenge angle in this game.
That angle centers on Raiders' receiver Davante Adams, who spent the first eight years of his career with the Packers before being traded to Las Vegas prior to the 2022 season. Adams fought through a shoulder injury in Las Vegas' loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4, helping rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell keep the game close, and there is a chance starter Jimmy Garoppolo could clear the concussion protocol in time to return on Monday.
The Packers are back in prime time for the second consecutive week after losing to the Detroit Lions by two touchdowns at home on Thursday night. The mini-bye that Green Bay received after Week 4 could be beneficial to the health of key contributors Aaron Jones and Christian Watson, who were both limited in their returns from injury in that game.
