Chris Russo torches NFL for considering Thanksgiving Eve game: ‘How much football can we take?’

Add the NFL looking to take over Thanksgiving Eve to the list of things Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo is mad about.

Adam Schefter reported the NFL is “exploring” the possibility of playing a game on the night before Thanksgiving as early as this upcoming season. Thankfully, Schefter reported the news just in time for Russo to use it as fuel for his “What Are You Mad About?” segment on First Take.

“I know they’re only exploring it, but can the NFL leave a holy day alone? How much football can we take? Let the NBA have Thanksgiving Eve.” – Chris Russo pic.twitter.com/ZX9s5zcWad

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 12, 2026

“They’re exploring one on Thanksgiving Eve?! The NFL wants to play a game on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving!” Russo complained. “Half the games you give us on Thanksgiving stink anyway because you can’t flex it and we’re stuck with Denver-Kansas City with freakin’ NO MAHOMES! So now we’re gonna explore playing a game on Thanksgiving Eve?

“That’s an NBA night! I’m in bed at 8 o’clock, I worked all week, and I worked on this stupid show with him!” Russo ranted while gesturing to Stephen A. Smith. “And then I gotta sit there, and I gotta go home and watch a regular season game with guys that played on Sunday? I mean, that’s a little rough. I know they’re only exploring it, but can the NFL leave a holy day alone? How much football can we take? Let the NBA have Thanksgiving Eve.”

Russo might be tapped on the NFL. But as far as how much NFL football the rest of the world can take, the answer probably includes Thanksgiving Eve. There’s something nice about the idea of prepping the turkey with an NFL game on to kick off the holiday. Another viewing of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles can wait.

There are hurdles for the NFL as they explore the idea of playing a game on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. When they scheduled a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader in 2024, those teams were coming off Saturday games, giving them the same amount of recovery and preparation time as allotted for a typical Thursday night matchup. But in November, there are no Saturday games for the NFL, meaning they would need teams that are either coming off a bye or a Thursday game.

A game on Wednesday, three games on Thanksgiving, and another game on Black Friday will severely hamper the Sunday product. But hurdles be damned, if the NFL has a new game to sell, they’ll figure out a way to make it work. If there’s one more day or night of football for NFL fans to watch, they’ll eagerly tune in on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during Thanksgiving week, and they can worry about the watered-down Sunday product later.