For the second week in a row, we’ll get a double dose of NFL football on Monday nights.
This time the Dolphins and Lions will be among those in the spotlight, with Miami set to face the Tennessee Titans and Detroit preparing for a meeting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Although an extra game may provide a solution for Monday’s issue, if scheduling four primetime contests per week becomes the norm, we will have to get used to the bottom teams taking center stage.
If you don’t think that’s the case, make sure you’re sitting in front of your television on Monday at 7:30 PM ET.
That’s when the 0-3 Titans and 1-2 Dolphins will collide. Miami has lost almost all its shine Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) on injured reserve.And it should have been clear throughout the offseason that Tennessee should never play in front of millions of spectators.
Let’s hope the Seattle-Detroit game purifies our tastes.
In an ideal world, there would be two more games on Monday after “Thursday Night Football” and “Sunday Night Football,” which would make everyone happy. But, when schedule variety and bye weeks are considered, the league simply doesn’t have enough talented teams to make it worthwhile. Watching two non-contenders go at it will get old quickly.
More NFL football on Sundays outside always excites fans, but how much noise will they make when they’re forced to watch Tennessee’s Will Lewis and Miami’s Tyler Huntley under center on Monday?
We’re guessing most living rooms across the country will be pretty quiet.
Fans will also need to keep in mind what impact Monday’s two games could have on fantasy football.
Listen, the league—and many players—have made it clear that they don’t care whether your negotiation succeeds or whether you beat that hated brother-in-law in your family’s fantasy football league. There will never be a day when the NFL will start catering to fantasy football managers, and moving more games out of the Sunday time slot will make it harder to draft lineups.
We’ve already seen a tragedy happen once this season because of a Monday game.
When the 49ers and New York Jets were scheduled to kick off Week 1, there was no indication that San Francisco’s star running back Christian McCaffrey wouldn’t suit up. He was listed as questionable due to a calf injury, but told reporters he had no doubts about his availability.
Then, about 90 minutes before kickoff, the Niners ruled McCaffrey out.He is yet to take the field this season.
Part of me hates the guy who says, “Hey, stop playing so many games on Monday nights so fantasy football players don’t have more chances to get screwed,” but if the league really wanted to sell its product, Cares – and its fans need to know just how big of a deal fantasy football has become over the past decade.
I mean, the NFL certainly had no problem connecting with sportsbooks, so why is it taking so long to realize that fans also want the best for their fantasy football teams?
Now is the time to start saving for the best Monday night again. And that means scheduling just one game.