Never a shrinking violet, Aaron Rodgers knows why the Pittsburgh Steelers are forced to travel and play the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday, days after a physical matchup against the Cleveland Browns. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Rodgers called out Roger Goodell and the NFL for instituting weekly Thursday night games.
“Thursday’s all about the league and making money,” Rodgers said via 93.7 The Fan. “We understand that. Used to be just Thanksgiving Thursdays. Then they obviously added Thursday games. Then Amazon coming in with a nice chunk of change. So we know what it’s all about.”
Thursday night football began in 2006 and quickly grew over time. For the 2012 season, the slate grew from eight games to 13. Now, the league plays Thursday night games every week of the regular season, Weeks 1-18. In 2021, Amazon finalized a deal giving it exclusive rights to those games, paying upwards of $1 billion per year in a deal that runs through the 2033 season. Bumpy at first, the product has generally been well-received, though the continued online-exclusive nature of these games is upsetting to many fans.
Rodgers knows there’s nothing to put that NFL toothpaste back in the tube. Thursday nights are here to stay.
“But it’s the same,” he said. “Everybody’s got at least one of these, so we just suck it up. We go on the road and take care of business, and we get a break.”
As Rodgers alluded to, the one benefit of a Thursday night game is the “mini-bye” on the other side of it. Not playing a game from Thursday until the following Sunday. But going on the road on a short week hasn’t been kind to the Steelers, who are 2-9 all-time under Mike Tomlin. Pittsburgh found itself in familiar territory a season ago. Facing a 2-8 Cleveland team, the Steelers were expected to win. Instead, the Browns handed them a 24-19 loss in a blizzard. That makes the reeling 2-4 Bengals no easy out.
Fortunately, it’s the only Thursday road game Pittsburgh has this season. Unless, of course, the NFL decides to flex a future game. Earlier this year, owners voted to shorten the notice from 28 to just 21 days. Given the Steelers’ early success, the league could target them as a draw later in the year. If only to rankle Rodgers all the more.
