Some believe it’s unfair to expect NFL teams to play on a Thursday after playing on a Sunday. But the NFL makes that process as fair as it possibly can be.
Every team plays one, and only one, short-week game in 2013, with one game on a Sunday and another on a Thursday.
That comes via 13 Thursday Night Football games on NFL Network, along with a trio of Thanksgiving games.
This year, however, the NFL was unable to configure the schedule in a way that ensures every road team on a Thursday game will play at home the prior Sunday, giving the team only one travel obligation in a short week. Specifically, the Steelers play on the road the Sunday before traveling to Baltimore for a Thanksgiving night game.
But the Steelers play at Cleveland, which gives them a fairly short trip home on Sunday before traveling to Baltimore for Thursday night.
Still, the Ravens play at home the Sunday before hosting Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving night, giving the defending AFC North and Super Bowl champions no travel obligation between the Sunday and Thursday games.