‘Monday Night Football’ Heads to Mexico City as Texans and Raiders Battle South of the Border
“Monday Night Football” went south of the border this week as the Oakland Raiders “hosted” the Houston Texans in Mexico City.
ESPN commentators Sean McDonough and Jon Gruden — along with reporter Lisa Salters on the sidelines and analyst Steve Levy showing off his flawless Spanish -- covered the first NFL regular-season game in Mexico City in 11 years on “MNF,” and it was certainly eventful.
After being neck-and-neck for four quarters, Derek Carr led Oakland to a 27-20 victory in what was considered a Raiders home game.
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Estadio Azteca! ???????????????????????? #HOUvsOAK #MiPartidoMiNFL ??”?: @tapiaphoto/NFL
A photo posted by NFL (@nfl) on Nov 21, 2016 at 6:00pm PST
Aside from the players needing to pack their passports, the international game created the added challenge of elevation for the two teams battling it out near the top of the AFC, as Azteca Stadium sits at 7,280 feet above sea level.
In comparison, the Denver Bronco’s Sports Authority Field at Mile High — the NFL’s most-elevated venue — only sits at 5,280 feet. Elevation can cause headaches, dizziness, sensation of fatigue, accelerated heartbeat and hyperventilation, especially for two teams who are used to playing close to sea level.
The altitude and the notorious pollution in Mexico City didn’t slow down the play however, as in the game that was tied on at least two occasions and only ever separated by a touchdown.
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On top of all that, Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler had to combat a fan trying to blind him by shining a green laser into his eyes.
Some knucklehead shining a green laser right at Osweiler. pic.twitter.com/GvY4gCTIun
— Daniel Gotera (@DTGoteraKHOU) November 22, 2016
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Needless to say, that and the colorful card stunts by the tens of thousands of rambunctious Mexican fans packing the stadium, fired up social media with some very interesting posts.
#KHOU11 #Texans Great card stunt by the fans. This was card stunt number one pic.twitter.com/mkJj3GoDbr
— Matt Musil (@KHOUSportsMatt) November 22, 2016
Arian Foster has been in Mexico all week taking in the festivities. Good to see him on the sidelines with the #Texans.
— PDS (@PatDStat) November 22, 2016
Estadio Azteca has a memorable history.
Tonight, the Houston #Texans add to it. #SomosTexans pic.twitter.com/Yzv5r37FDd
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) November 21, 2016
Green laser just appeared on Osweiler's helmet prior to third-down incompletion. Weird. #Texans #Raiders
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) November 22, 2016
COOOOOOOP! #RaiderNation#HOUvsOAK #MiPartidoMiNFL pic.twitter.com/OntRhhoP0G
— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2016
I think the problem is that they don't use yards in Mexico and it's confusing them. That's why the spots are so bad #Texans
— Will Bracher (@WillBracher) November 22, 2016
Me: I'm gonna be a good sport tonight at the football game
Me to me: Bring the laser pointer pic.twitter.com/kD6bAwSO0I
— MNF Laser Pointer (@MNFLaserPointer) November 22, 2016
"Nausea, headaches" b/c altitude in Mexico City. NFL players dreading day Goodell expands #MNF to Nepal & plays game at top of Mt Everest.
— Max Kellerman (@maxkellerman) November 22, 2016
No disrespect by Mexicans during our National Anthem, only respect. Some Americans should take note. ????????????????#MNFMexico #MNF
— Justin Wilson (@JmacWilson) November 22, 2016
Football in Mexico!
Raiders & Texans face off next! #MNF#HOUvsOAK pic.twitter.com/96d7iE2jXC
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 22, 2016
Less than 24 hours in Mexico and DeAndre Hopkins and the Texans have already been robbed
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) November 22, 2016
Raiders take on the Texans in Mexico City for the 1st time since 2005.
Catch the Monday Night Football action here: https://t.co/3ATdsCYG0n pic.twitter.com/8STIMZl8l8
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 22, 2016
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