NFL players and Thursday night games go together like peanut butter and meatballs. The players simply do not like playing on Thursday night. Saints QB Drew Brees is the latest high profile player to speak out against the Thursday night games after multiple Saints players suffered injuries during Thursday’s loss to the Falcons.
“It’s 100 percent a product of playing on Thursday night. Do you understand what guys’ bodies go through in a game? And then to have to turn around four days later and to play? Look at the injury studies: They’re off the charts. They’re off the charts. So is this smart as it pertains to guys’ health and safety? No, absolutely not.”
The Saints lost 6 players to injuries Thursday night. This comes one month after the Seattle Seahawks lost 6 starters in a Thursday night contest against the Cardinals. A game that saw Richard Sherman go down for the season with a torn Achilles. After that game Doug Baldwin said Thursday night games should be illegal.
Brees, like most players, has cited the short turn around time for the large number of Thursday night injuries.
“I can sit here and tell you that no player likes putting himself at risk on four days’ rest, to come and put their bodies through what they put them through in a game. So you hope that it’s addressed [this offseason], you hope that it’s talked about and you hope that something is done about it. When you see guys go down, when you lose guys for what you think is unnecessary just because you put ’em at a much higher risk in such a quick turnaround, that gets you upset.”
The loss drops the Saints to 9-4 on the season but they are still leading the NFC south. One game ahead of the 8-5 Falcons and a half game ahead of the 8-4 Panthers. Should the Panthers win this Sunday the Saints have the tie breaker after beating the Panthers twice this season.
