The Texans finished their Monday night game at 1:24 a.m. ET on Tuesday. After flying home to Houston, they’ll have a shorter-than-usual short week before hosting the 49ers at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.
For both of the consecutive Monday doubleheaders this season one of the teams playing in the game that ended on Tuesday morning had a game the following Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET. In Week 2, the Raiders traveled to D.C. for an eventual loss to the Commanders after a late-night game against the Chargers.
It’s an odd quirk that creates an extra strategic disadvantage. It reduces the hours that the late-Monday night team has to get ready to face a team that played on Sunday.
And while the league has resolved the overall short-week debate by clinging to the idea that the in-game injury rate for Sunday-to-Sunday games is the same as it is from Sunday-to-Thursday, teams that play on Thursday almost always play teams that played on Sunday. The total hours for both teams are roughly the same.
For both the Raiders in Week 2 and the Texans in Week 7, the relative gap becomes even larger thanks to the late start — and late finish — to those games.
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