Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson didn’t halt back from citing his displeasure with the NFL making the Steelers play two games on short rest, referring to the scheduling as “a bit bizarre.”
The NFL schedules were revealed this week, hence, all 32 teams got a picture of the order they will be facing their rivals, the exact time they will be able to remain at home, and the time of their bye week in the league.
Steelers’ Patrick Peterson is not a fan of multiple Thursday night games
The Steelers‘ CB Patrick Peterson did not shy away from voicing his outrage against the two Thursday night games scheduled for the 2023 NFL season on the latest edition of the “All Things Covered” podcast when asked by co-host Bryant McFadden about his opinions regarding the team playing Thursday Night Football games in Weeks 9 and 14.
“That’s five weeks apart. It’s tough enough getting up for the first Thursday night game, better yet another one,” he said.
Playing two Thursday night games in a single season can be physically challenging for players. Thursday night games require teams to play with a shorter week of rest and preparation that can lead to increased fatigue and injury risk- especially for the veteran players due to the lack of opportunity to recover adequately.
The 32-year-old couldn’t hold his frustration and went on expressing his disappointment while citing the decision as “a bit bizarre”,
“I get it. They want to find ways to get ball on TV, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to think about our bodies. Especially with me being in Year 13, my body doesn’t recovery like it used to. … To have two Thursday Night Football games, I think, is a bit bizarre.”
Pittsburgh will host two Thursday Night Football games at Acrisure Stadium this season, against the Tennessee Titans ( 2nd Nov) and against the New England Patriots ( 7th December) as well as play four prime-time games in total.
When the NFL initially started playing games on Thursday nights, all the teams could play only once per season, however, the league slightly changed the rules to allow teams to play twice on Thursdays, and eliminate the requirement of playing a prime-time game in 2022. Many players and coaches have previously spoken out against the decision, citing the shortened week for recovery and preparation as a major issue.
As the 2023 NFL season approaches, it remains to be seen whether Thursday night games will continue to be a fixture of the league’s schedule or if changes will be made in response to concerns from veteran players like Peterson.
