Football is a physical and violent sport. There needs to be an adequate amount of time between games for players to recuperate their bodies and minds before returning to the gridiron. We usually dictate that players get six days off when playing Sunday to Sunday, or at least five if they played on Monday Night Football the previous week. But with the advent of Thursday Night Football – and Thanksgiving Day games before that – these weeks players only get three days of rest.
So, the question of the day for Craig Hoffman: Which team playing on Thursday Night Football this week - the Washington Commanders and Chicago Bears – benefits more from playing on a short week?
"On the one hand, I think that a team with a better roster has an advantage on Thursday nights," Hoffman said. "Because you just lineup and play way more than you do on a Sunday."
By that, Hoffman means since there is less time to correct mistakes from the previous game and less time to implement a gameplan - based on the scouting of the Thursday opponent – there will be more sticking with the basics and less opponent-specific action.
And while Washington may not be an NFL juggernaut – at 2-2 with an offense that is coming off a bounce-back performance in which they scored 30 points and a defense that has allowed a lot of points but has difference-makers at key positions – there is a big talent gap between them and a winless Chicago outfit that has had some turmoil off the field not limited to quarterback Justin Fields making some eyebrow-raising comments recently..
"Or is it actually working against the better team because they're not at their max capacity, it's much more a crap shoot and kind of a small odds type of bet where it's like 'I dunno anything could happen, coin flip," Hoffman said.
To hear the full segment with all of Hoffman's thoughts and Commanders fanas chime in with their takes, listen on the audio player above.
