The NFL has games on five different days of the week this year, and counting all the Thursday, Saturday, and Monday games, plus Black Friday and the international games early on Sunday mornings, there are at least 65 games (plus whatever is added as “exclusive” windows in the TBD Week 18) in exclusive national spots.
That’s 130-plus spots to be featured in for national exposure…and when the Commanders’ schedule was released Thursday night, they got all of two of them: their requisite Thursday Night Football appearance against the Bears in Week 5, and Thanksgiving Day in Dallas.
Every team gets a Thursday nighter, and yes, the NFL wants to feature big markets or marquee names in a lot of other slots – see also why Aaron Rodgers’ Jets have the Week 1 Monday nighter and the Black Friday game, or why Eagles-Giants and Chiefs-Raiders are two of the three games on the Christmas Day tripleheader slate.
Even worse for some is that the Commanders have seven games on CBS (including Thanksgiving, as FOX gets the Lions) with eight on FOX, the Prime Thursday nighter, and TBD in Week 18 – meaning those on the north side of the district who are also in the Baltimore market might have some conflicts.
Kevin Sheehan, though, wants to know why, with new ownership and a new era pending, the Commanders got almost completely shut out outside of the requirements.
“This is the second straight year and third total time the Bears and Commanders have played on Thursday Night Football. I don’t know why that’s an attractive matchup, when I think some of their other games would’ve been attractive prime time games,” Sheehan said. “They play the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles twice, plus they play the Dolphins, the 49ers, the Bills, and the Jets, so they had more games that could’ve been there.”
Is it just chance, a load up on certain marquee names (outside of the international games, of course), or a slight on the fact that the Commanders just aren’t worth watching?
“Really, it’s an indication that they are just not a team that the other networks really care to snatch up,” Sheehan said. “In fact, they probably had to avoid them at all costs to only get down to one game. But this is a team that was 7-5-1 heading into their bye last year with a legitimate chance to make the postseason, but they got no respect when it came to prime time games.”
The sad part is, though, that only the business side likely cares, but if business was better, maybe the Commanders’ slate would be, too.
“I bet the coaching staff doesn’t care, but the business side sure does,” Sheehan said. “The Thursday night games…I know there’s been a consideration in the past for traffic here, so their prime time games have usually been Sunday nights because it’s easier, although getting to that stadium hasn’t been that difficult at any time over the recent years.”
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