The Pittsburgh Steelers may have had one of the weirder schedules in the league over the past month. In their final five games of the season, they will have played once on Thursday and three times on Saturday, including the upcoming finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
That has meant two short weeks and one week shorter than it would normally be as they played on a Saturday after a Thursday game, which teams often view as a “mini bye”. They only had two extra days instead of three, and then played again on a Saturday after that. It all makes one wonder who’s making these arrangements and what their plans are—or perhaps it doesn’t. We know the answer.
“It is what it is at this point. Line it up and we’ll play. But I’m just saying, damn, give us some time. We’re trying to win this game just as much as anybody”, Steelers DL Cameron Heyward said on his Not Just Football podcast earlier this week about the unusual playing times.
When it was suggested that he bring it up with the NFLPA, he pointed out that the schedule is “not even collectively bargained”, so the union can’t do anything about it anyway. “That’s just from the NFL’s perspective They set the games, we just play…They don’t give a damn about us”.
The discussion about Thursday games is one that has taken place for a number of years. While concrete data is shaky, players argue that the short turnaround presents an increased risk of injury. More concretely, it makes players much more likely to play at less than 100 percent without the proper amount of time to allow their bodies to heal.
“We talk about constantly trying to take care of our bodies, and on a Thursday week you’re literally trying to squeeze in so much. A Saturday you’re trying to squeeze in so much”, Heyward said. “So over time it’s just, week after week, we just try to bounce back and then try to make up for it the next week. We haven’t even had a chance to make up for it on the back week”.
The Steelers lost at home to the New England Patriots on a short week, going from Sunday to Thursday. The following week, getting only nine days instead of 10, they lost to the Indianapolis Colts on a Saturday, then played the Cincinnati Bengals the following Saturday. After playing on Sunday this past week, their final game will once again take place on a Saturday afternoon.
But they will gladly take another Saturday game after that if it means them playing in the postseason. And the reality is that the schedule is only going to get more unpredictable. You can safely wager that the NFL is planning ways to play games on every day of the week, if possible. Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year, and the league saw how good the TV ratings were this past Christmas.
