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The NFL has undergone significant format changes in recent years, and more alterations could be on the horizon. Commissioner Roger Goodell is striving to expand the league's global footprint, a push that has led to an increasing number of international games—including nine contests scheduled to be played outside the United States during the 2026 season.
Another major shift occurred in 2021 when the regular season was expanded to 17 games. Now, the league is reportedly discussing the possibility of adding an 18th regular-season game, which would require further adjustments to the schedule.
With the potential for additional games, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has hypothesized that the NFL might already be experimenting with scheduling teams for multiple consecutive prime-time appearances. Such a strategy could pave the way for games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the future.
Florio explained his reasoning on Pro Football Talk, noting that he has observed an unusual pattern this season. "Peeking ahead on the Bears schedule, I noticed something that I have been noticing a lot this year," he said. "Because I've never noticed it in the past, I'm assuming it wasn't there to notice in the same way it's now noticeable. We are in the midst of three straight Cowboys games in prime time. We have had three straight Falcons games in prime time. The Eagles are having two straight."
He continued: "It's interesting, man: prime time coming up Monday and Sunday. Here's my hypothesis, because, look, it may just be random. It may just be, but when that many teams are getting three in a row in prime time, I wonder if they are experimenting with having the same team in prime time for multiple weeks (for if and when they ever fully embrace Tuesday and Wednesday night)."
Florio suggested that if the league were to adopt such a model, the schedule would need to be restructured so that a team might play on Thursday one week, Wednesday the next, and Tuesday the following week, maximizing rest between games. "You're going to have to do this surgery to the schedule that has the same teams popping up again," he said. "Once you have teams playing in the middle of the week, then maybe you say, 'Interesting Monday,' and then they go back to Sunday, right?"
Key Analysis
The potential shift toward weekday games would mirror the NBA's approach of playing games on most days of the week. However, Saturdays would likely remain off-limits due to college football commitments. Such a change could significantly alter the traditional Sunday viewing experience, which many fans enjoy through NFL RedZone, and its reception among fans remains uncertain.
Originally reported by yahoo.