For the second week in a row, we’ll be getting a double dose of Monday night NFL football.
This time the Dolphins and Lions will be among those entering the field, while Miami will face the Tennessee Titans and Detroit prepares for a meeting with the Seattle Seahawks.
While an extra game could eventually provide a solution to the Monday situation, we’ll have to get used to lower teams taking the lead if scheduling four matches a week becomes the norm.
If you don’t think so, make sure you’re sitting in front of your television at 7:30 pm ET on Monday.
This is where the 0-3 Titans and 1-2 Dolphins will collide. Miami has lost almost all of its spark with Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) on the injured reserve, and it should have been obvious all along that Tennessee should never be playing in front of millions of viewers.
Let’s just hope the Seattle-Detroit game cleanses our palates.
In a perfect world, following up “Thursday Night Football” and “Sunday Night Football” with two more games on Monday would make everyone happy. But, considering the schedule differences and bye weeks, there simply aren’t enough teams in the league to make it a success. Watching two non-competitors go at it will get old fast.
Most NFL football outside of Sundays is always exciting for fans, but how much noise will they make if they’re forced to watch Tennessee’s Will Levis and Miami’s Tyler Huntley duke it out under center on Monday?
We think many living rooms across the country will be silent.
Fans should also remember what Monday’s two games could have in fantasy football.
Listen, the league—and most players—have made it clear that they don’t care if your parlay hits or if you beat the hated brother-in-law on your family’s football team. There will never be a day when the NFL starts catering to ridiculous football managers, and releasing so many games outside of Sunday time slots makes it difficult to schedule.
We’ve already seen disaster strike once this season because of Monday’s game.
Back when the 49ers and New York Jets were scheduled to close out Week 1, there was no indication that San Francisco star running back Christian McCaffrey wouldn’t be eligible. He is listed as doubtful due to a calf injury but told the media that he does not doubt that he is there.
Then, about 90 minutes before kickoff, the Niners released McCaffrey. He has not entered the field this season.
Part of me hates to be the guy who says, “Hey, stop putting so many games on Monday nights so fantasy football doesn’t have a high chance of being forgotten,” but if the league really cares about its product — and its fans — it should know that good football should be how big it has been in the last decade.
I mean, the NFL had no problem meeting the sportsbooks, so what’s taking so long to realize that fans want the best from their football teams?
Time to start saving on Monday night to get the best again. And that means planning just one game.