Week 10’s NFL slate of nationally televised games has a chance to be one of the worst in recent memory.
If you’re of the mindset that football is like pizza, even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good, then perhaps this weekend’s slate of games isn’t the end of the world for you. If you’re Al Michaels and any of the four major networks, well you may want to shield your eyes away from this one.
Thursday Night Football on Prime Video features the Chicago Bears (2-7) and Carolina Panthers (1-7). This matchup is fascinating in the sense that this is a win-win for Chicago, who holds Carolina’s first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft; there’s also the likelihood of Justin Fields returning. Other than that, well you may want to say a prayer for Al Michaels, who continues to draw criticism for lack of enthusiasm during TNF.
As AA’s Sean Keeley wrote, “There’s a non-zero chance that Michaels simply takes off his headset at some point during this broadcast and lets Kirk Herbstreit figure it out from there.”
And that’s just the start of the week!
On Sunday morning, live from Germany, the Indianapolis Colts (4-5) take on the New England Patriots (2-7). Now, this isn’t a primetime window, but this past weekend’s Kansas City Chiefs—Miami Dolphins game in Frankfurt had 9.2 million viewers, more than the 2023 World Series.
According to Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand, the Chiefs’ win over Miami posted a 94 share in Kansas City. This means that 94 percent of TVs in use were tuned into the Chiefs-Dolphins game. Ourand writes that this is in the running for the highest local share for any NFL game, if not for any sports event, period.
We can’t promise that anyone in the greater New England area is going to wake up bright and early, Dunkin Donuts in hand, to watch Mac Jones and the 2-7 Pats.
But wait, there’s unfortunately more.
On Sunday Night Football, the NFL has graced us with the New York Jets (4-4) and Las Vegas Raiders (4-5). The league and NBC punted the opportunity to flex a different game into the SNF slot but opted to go with a team that can’t score any points and another team that just fired its head coach, general manager, and offensive coordinator.
Perhaps we’ll get to hear Cris Collinsworth wax poetic about Zach Wilson again, or as Bill Simmons referred to it, a “live orgasm.” That certainly wasn’t the case on Monday Night Football, as Troy Aikman couldn’t contain his disdain for Wilson and New York’s offense. Even though both teams are right in the thick t of the Wild Card race, nobody wants to see the Jets on primetime back-to-back weeks, especially with that offense, and I write this as a Jets fan.
Speaking of Aikman, he and Joe Buck will be on the call for next Monday night’s game between the Buffalo Bills (5-4) and Denver Broncos (3-5). The Bills are a maddening team, and we don’t mean that in a good way. They’ll be featured on primetime in back-to-back weeks, against a Broncos team, that has recently started to show signs of life, including a Week 8 upset of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
But, nobody wants to see them on Monday night.
So, there you have it. Week 10 just might be the worst week ever for NFL nationally televised games. But if the quarterback injuries continue to pile up, who knows what could happen?
