What’s more fun than having doubts from NFL coaches? Nothing, that’s what. So let’s do it here every week. Today: Schedule shuffling!
The scenario
This year, for the first time, the NFL practiced a ‘Thursday Night Flex’, which means moving a game from Sunday to the Thursday before. That happened this past week, when Denver traveled to Los Angeles to play the Chargers. The NFL moved Cincinnati-Cleveland out of Thursday’s spot — you don’t have to think too much to figure out why — and gave Denver the chance to go to the spot.
We say “opportunity” because Denver was given the choice to adapt on the fly. Because the Broncos had already played a Thursday night road game this season – in Week 7 against the Saints – they had to agree to a second road flexion. Why a second short week road race? Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?
The result
Denver lost to the Chargers despite leading by 11 points in the third quarter, and Broncos head coach Sean Payton pointed to the tight week as the reason for that.
“We dropped the coverage five different times tonight,” Payton said after the game. “Look, in a short week we have to take a hard look at, ‘Why are these things happening?’ But five different times we had free runners and you can’t have one of their top receivers not covered.”
The problem with this reasoning is that the Broncos themselves agreed to the short week, so it’s not like they were backed in the slot. Short weeks are hell for teams’ preparation – this week’s Christmas games on Wednesday are likely to be particularly ugly – so every time a coach willingly gives up that preparation time, you have to wonder what’s behind it.
So why did Denver agree to take the game on Thursday night? Possibly because it gives Denver more than a week’s break before a crucial Week 17 game against…the same Bengals who were moved from the spot.
Denver still has , according to NFL Next Gen Stats, but that’s well below the Chargers’ 94 percent. Did Payton put his team in a bad position in Week 16 by taking some time to prepare for Week 17? Your call.
