ESPN switches away from yellow down-and-distance graphic after just one half of Monday Night Football

ESPN debuted a new down-and-distance graphic on for their 2019 Monday Night Football opener between the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints. The graphic was yellow, leaving viewers annoyed and confused.

MNF has a new scorebug, and uh…. pic.twitter.com/iuzfeUCIUQ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 9, 2019

That’s the same color viewers are used to seeing on football broadcasts when a flag has been thrown for a penalty.

And for penalties, the down-and-distance graphic turned black with “FLAG” (featuring a yellow outline and yellow letters) to only make things more confusing.

Here’s a look at it in action:

And here’s a sampling of Twitter reaction:

Checks to see if anyone else is wildly annoyed by ESPN’s yellow graph … OK, you’re on it.

— Dan Hanzus (@DanHanzus) September 10, 2019

RT this if you want @ESPN to change the color of the down and distance graphic on MNF.

We must stop this horrendous yellow penalty flag pump fake.

— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) September 9, 2019

.@espn please take this yellow-green down-and-distance color and throw it into the ocean. It looks like a flag pic.twitter.com/jNyMSY7kZA

— Riley McAtee (@RileyMcAtee) September 9, 2019

Ugh why is ESPN still using yellow rectangles on the score bug to indicate the down. It looks like there’s a flag every time and my dumb brain can’t handle it 😩

— Jessica Smetana (@jessica_smetana) September 9, 2019

https://twitter.com/LandryLocker/status/1171201842283458561

i still cant get over how ESPN thought the yellow down markers were a good idea. Love thinking there is a flag every play

— Jon Reed (@Jon__Reed) September 9, 2019

https://twitter.com/lbrgdl/status/1171199731487379457

Well, after just one half of the Texans-Saints game, ESPN got rid of the yellow down-and-distance graphic on MNF.

Breaking: ESPN is switching away from the new Down-And-Distance graphic it debuted in the first half of Monday Night Football. ESPN heard the fans’ feedback and acted, quick.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 10, 2019

Here’s what the down-and-distance graphic looks like now (the “FLAG” graphic remained the same):

So, while the original graphic was nonsensical, at least ESPN quickly listened to the viewer complaints and made the adjustment.