The NFL wanted to entertain fans with more football and created Thursday Night Football in 2006. It is an odd day of the week for a football game, but it has now been 20 years, and the format has stuck. Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell’s wife, Holly, however, is not too keen about it
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“Thursday night games are stupid,” she said on her IG story before the game.
Thursday Night Football has often been criticized because NFL players have less time to recover between games. In a 2014 NFL.com report, Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III also raised concerns about players’ recovery.
“There are a lot of players out there who feel like there’s not enough days in the week for us to be playing on Thursdays,” Griffin said. “It’s something that the NFL is going to have to address to keep players safe while also trying to maximize revenue.”
Fergus Connolly, former director of elite performance for the San Francisco 49ers, told the Guardian that physical recovery from a weekend game needs at least a three-day period, which is only just enough.
“With less time to prepare, how quickly and efficiently the coaching staff can communicate the game plan – condensed into specific teaching points – is a big part of success for the Thursday game.”
Entering the Bills game, Detroit had little time to catch their breath after their Week 1 battle with the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. They had to make the trip to Buffalo for the opening game at the new Highmark Stadium, and they were also down some important players.
Blake Miller (knee) and Christian Mahogany (hip) did not practice Monday or Tuesday and were eventually ruled out against Buffalo. Campbell pointed to the same concern before the game.
“It is (a concern),” Campbell said about Miller’s knee injury. “But it’s also because it’s a short week. It’s really about how fast we can recover it’s really about the recovery. What does he look like tomorrow? We’re going to know a lot more tomorrow. We really will. It’s really hard to say.”
It clearly affected their offensive line. With both of them out, Detroit had to rely on Larry Borom and Ben Bartch to fill their spots, while also adding extra offensive-line depth from the practice squad.
We wonder whether Thursday really played a part in the game, but the Lions were simply shut out by the Bills.
The Lions did not score until around five minutes were left in the second quarter, while the Bills had already put 21 points on the board. In the second half, things did not get much better.
“Listen, it’s early. We’re in Week 2,” a dejected Dan Campbell told the press. “We got a long season, and the most important thing is that we get better. That’s it. We just need to get better than we were today and all three phases. We need to play better against the Jets — and I believe we will.”
The concerns surrounding Thursday Night Football are understandable, but Dan Campbell and the Lions now have to put the short week behind them and focus on playing better moving forward.