Last week, the Rams and 49ers played on Thursday, and the Cowboys and Cardinals played on Monday. Today, each of the teams that had 10 days between games played one of the teams that had only six.
The Rams, who had extra rest, beat the short-week Cowboys in Dallas. The 49ers, who had extra week, pushed the short-week Cardinals to the limit in overtime.
It’s an odd quirk in the schedule that played out earlier this year, when the Patriots opened the season on a Thursday, the Saints played on Monday night, and the two teams got together on Sunday.
Yes, there are plenty of actual and perceived inequities in the scheduling process. Sure, it’s difficult if not impossible to account for all of the various permutations when picking the proper spots for 256 regular-season games. But this seems like a factor that could be, or at least should be, avoided.
There will always be teams who played on a Sunday facing a team who played on a Thursday; the Cowboys do it again next week, with the Packers on extra rest. And there will always be teams who face a team coming off a bye. But a Sunday game between Thursday-Monday teams seems like something that should be preventable.