To celebrate the 45th season of "Monday Night Football," a panel of ESPN.com contributors have selected the 45 most memorable moments in MNF history. Follow along as we reveal one per day and count down the number of days to this season's MNF debut.
No. 32: Patriots 25, Bills 24 | Sept. 14, 2009
After New England Patriots fans had to wait an entire season for quarterback Tom Brady's knee to heal, making them wait until Monday night to see Brady's return in Week 1 of the 2009 season seemed almost cruel. But the finish was worth the wait, as Brady's heroics late in the game gave New England its 11th straight win against the Buffalo Bills to open the 40th season of "Monday Night Football."
The Bills had a 24-13 lead with 5:32 to play when Brady got the ball on the Pats' 19-yard line and led an 11-play touchdown drive, but a 2-point conversion attempt failed.
Belichick decided to kick deep to Buffalo's Leodis McKelvin with 2:06 to play and all three timeouts. McKelvin received the kick 2 yards deep in the end zone and made a couple of cuts upfield before getting hit by Brandon Meriweather and stripped of the ball by Pierre Woods.
Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski ended up with the ball at the bottom of the pile, giving New England first-and-10 from Buffalo's 31-yard line. McKelvin's critical turnover was enough for Brady, who hit Benjamin Watson for a 16-yard touchdown with less than a minute to play for the game-winning touchdown.
