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Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

2024 NFL Schedule: A History of Wednesday Games as NFL Prepares Shocking Move

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics | By James Foster | Last updated 3/26/24

The 2024 NFL Schedule may be weeks from getting unveiled, but we have received plenty of first glances as to games that will be played in the 2024 NFL Season. The Philadelphia Eagles will play the first Friday of the season in Brazil, against an opponent yet to be unveiled. Another 271 regular season games have yet to be unveiled, but NFL fans have been delivered another hint as to what may unfold in 2024.

On Tuesday, the NFL allegedly confirmed its plans to play two games on Christmas Day this season, a Wednesday. While Wednesday games have been played before, the inclusion of Christmas Day Wednesday games into the 2024 NFL Schedule marks uncharted waters for the NFL.

2024 NFL Schedule: What Wednesday Christmas Game Means

This is a ratings-driven move first and foremost, after the 2023 games drew an average of 27 million viewers. Considering the logistics of the 2024 NFL Schedule, it will be a logistical nightmare to sort out just how to make this work. Week 17 of the 2024 NFL Season would follow that Sunday, the 29th, offering the teams only four days of rest to turn around and play the penultimate week of the 2024 NFL Season, games that are pivotal to playoff seeding.

Despite claims that the move “wouldn’t make sense” after last Christmas, the 2024 NFL Schedule will likely have at least two Christmas Day games for fans to unwrap once again. Wednesday games in the NFL aren’t new, as the NFL has played a game on every day of the week, but for 2024 amidst rumors of an 18th game becoming a reality, having football games all over the place offers confusing and potentially dangerous situations for fans and players alike

NFL EVP for Media Distribution Hans Schroeder announced:
— There will be a Christmas Day doubleheader, despite it being on a Wednesday. “We've seen really some unprecedented growth."
— Amazon will have a Wild Card playoff game this year.
— The #Eagles season opener in Brazil…

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 26, 2024

A Brief Recent History of Wednesday Games

We have seen NFL games be played on Wednesdays twice in the past twelve seasons, and three in the past 75. In 2012, the defending champion New York Giants played the Dallas Cowboys on a Wednesday to kick off that season. This change was necessitated by the 2012 Democratic National Convention and then-President Barack Obama’s Speech. The Dallas Cowboys would defeat the New York Giants, 24-17.

Before 2024, 2020 and 2021 were the most recent times NFL teams played games on Tuesday or Wednesday. These circumstances were necessitated by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and several different teams wound up playing games on Tuesdays in those two years. The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers played the NFL’s most recent Wednesday game in 2020, a rescheduled game from what was meant to be the Thanksgiving nightcap of that season.

Pittsburgh won that Wednesday evening, 19-14. Time will tell who will be brought together on Christmas Wednesday in 2024. The 2024 NFL Schedule will likely be revealed in early May. Early fan reactions have been mixed.

This article first appeared on Gridiron Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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