Patriots two-time Pro Bowler Devin McCourty bemoans Thursday night games

The New England Patriots improved to 6-4 via this past Sunday's 45-7 thrashing of the Cleveland Browns but didn't have much time to enjoy that win. They had to immediately look ahead to Thursday's prime-time matchup at the 4-5 Atlanta Falcons. 

Multiple NFL players have previously spoken out about how such short turnarounds can be brutal during grueling seasons, and Patriots safety Devin McCourty added his name to the list when discussing Thursday's clash. 

"Quite frankly, it sucks to play Sunday and then have to play again Thursday," McCourty explained, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "But you push through and you look at the next break that you’re gonna get is a 10-day break. You gotta push through mentally and continue to tell yourself that and go out there and try to play a good game. There’s two teams going through the same thing and it’ll come down to who out-prepares each other, who can recover better, all those little things in a short amount of time play a big factor come Thursday night." 

Last month, Panthers star running back Christian McCaffrey seemed to blame the "Thursday Night Football" scheduling format for a hamstring injury that cost him significant time this fall. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting quarterback Tom Brady recently lashed out at the NFL's decision to expand to a 17-game regular-season schedule. 

Like in every other business, money talks as it pertains to the NFL. With "TNF" heading to Amazon via an 11-year agreement worth a reported $1.2 billion per season beginning next September, McCourty, McCaffrey and every other player better get used to facing opponents on Sundays and then again four nights later at least once each year.