Special: Sunday night now NFL's showcase

Throughout the Dallas Cowboys' 20-8 victory over the New York Giants last Sunday night, NBC hyped tonight's game between the Carolina Panthers and the Giants at Giants Stadium.

It was a game so good, the network boasted, that it was hand-picked for Sunday Night Football.

We'll see if it's as good as we all expect it to be, with home-field advantage throughout the NFC bracket assured to tonight's winner.

But even if the rain, sleet, snow and dead of night keep the game from delivering, NBC's promo is worth taking a look at further.

For more than 30 years, ABC's Monday Night Football provided the NFL's showcase game each week. But since NBC's Sunday Night Football began airing in 2006, and since the Monday night package moved to ESPN, the Sunday night ratings have routinely doubled the Monday night telecast.

It raises the question: Is Sunday night the new Monday night?

Were the Panthers playing on the grandest stage two weeks ago when they beat Tampa Bay 38-23 on Monday Night Football, simply because it was Monday night? Or are the Panthers on an even grander stage tonight? Did announcers Al Michaels and John Madden take Monday night's credibility with them when they left the MNF booth to call the Sunday night package three years ago?

From this spot in the press box, the answer seems clear. Sunday night is the new Monday night. Because the NFL allows NBC "flexible" scheduling and the ability to handpick the best game in each of the last seven weeks of the season and air it, it gets matchups such as the Panthers-Giants and Cowboys-Giants.

From this spot in the press box, there's more reason to sit back and relax and watch a big game on Sunday night, the end of the weekend, than to make sure you're home to watch a game that may or may not have major implications on Monday night. Tomorrow night's telecast features Chicago vs. Green Bay. It might have projected to be a big game last summer when the schedule was announced, but obviously it isn't as big as tonight's showdown between two 11-3 teams that lead their respective divisions and share the best record in the NFC.

And any game with Michaels and Madden calling it inherently has a different aura -- regardless of the matchup -- than games called by ESPN's Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser. That's not a slam on Jaworski, either.

Linebacker Na'il Diggs said he is far more likely to watch a Sunday night game than a Monday night game, and he agrees that the presence of Michaels and Madden makes Sunday night special.

"Madden, you know, you just can't substitute Madden," Diggs said. "Those two have been together for years and between the commentary on the game, his voice.… If you look at the opponents, too, you'll probably find they're getting the better games. They can see who's hot and put them on, and get better ratings.

"The Monday night game is predetermined, so you get some bad games."

The ratings, for sure, are eye-opening. Last Sunday's Giants-Cowboys game was the most viewed show on television, period, for the week. It drew a 13.7 rating, which translates to 23,053,000 viewers. CSI drew a 12.7 rating, which translates to 20.8 million viewers. The Panthers-Bucs game, which fell into the same ratings period, had a 7.4 rating and was viewed by 11.582 million.

Panthers players are quick to say that they still get a kick out of playing on Monday night, though.

"Monday night is its own baby, that's my opinion," quarterback Jake Delhomme said. "You're the only show in town on Monday night, there's one more left to go. On Monday night, you know your peers are watching, whereas on Sunday night you don't know who's watching and who's with their families and who's on the plane ride home. Sometimes you can't watch Sunday night because if you play on the road sometimes you're flying back. So Monday night, I think it will always have its own category."

And, of course, it's all right to consider both big.

"Monday night is always going to be Monday night," tackle Jordan Gross said. "But Madden's always going to be Madden, and he's going to be special no matter what he's calling. I usually watch as much football as I can because I just love watching games. But either way, you're the only game on. I do think they were smart in moving this one, because I think it's going to be a good one."

Gross' hope is that the Panthers rise to the occasion on Sunday night the way they did on Monday night.

"I think this team really likes the excitement and the pressure of the big games," he said. "The Monday night game was big and we were talking about how much we were looking forward to it, and this is even more of the same. I hope guys know it's big and there's a lot on the line and it's a playoff atmosphere, because if we're going to do what we want to do, we need to do well in these types of games."

■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.