Therapy Thursdays? Games are just as safe
NFL injuries are as likely on Sundays, Mark Maske writes.
WASHINGTON There has been plenty of disdain expressed this season for NFL games played on Thursdays, and that’s fine.
This Thursday will be an exception. The U.S. Thanksgiving games in Detroit and Dallas are an American tradition, so there is unlikely to be anything disparaging said about the Vikings-Lions and Chargers-Cowboys matchups. Thursday’s Redskins-Giants meeting in Landover, Md., might not be treated quite as kindly.
But on other weeks this season, the Thursday games have been targets of scorn and derision.
So hate Thursday NFL games if you like. Criticize them all you want. But don’t hate them because they are more hazardous to players in terms of injury risks, because they aren’t. That’s what the data says.
After Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman suffered a season-ending ruptured Achilles tendon during a recent Thursday-night game, Seahawks players vented about the shortweek games.
“It’s Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, Exhibit D, Exhibit Z,” Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin said, according to ESPN. “Thursday night football should be illegal.”
Others have expressed similar views in recent weeks. Buffalo Bills guard Richie Incognito called the games “completely unfair” to players.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said: “It’s miserable. It’s terrible. They need to get rid of this game, I think. Just play on Mondays and Sundays. It’s so tough on guys. You’re beat up. You’re banged up.”
It stands to reason that players will not be at their best when playing on a Thursday after playing on the previous Sunday. However, the NFL’s injury data does not back up any contention that Thursday games present greater injury risks. In fact, the injury rate is lower in Thursday games than in Sunday games played a week after the previous game.
DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, mentioned that in January during a meeting with Washington Post reporters and editors.
“There is a statistical significant difference between injuries that occur on grass and injuries that occur on artificial turf,” Smith said then. “And nobody’s talking about that. I mean, we’ve said that now for almost two years. I’ve heard far more about Thursday night than I’ve heard about the statistically significant difference between injuries that occur on grass and occur on artificial turf.”
It’s not outdated information. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, said the injury rate remains lower in Thursday games than in Sunday-afterSunday games.
Smith said in January that the feedback he receives about Thursday-night games is mixed.
“When you talk to players about Thursday-night games, I would say 50 per cent of the players don’t mind them and 50 per cent of the players mind them,” Smith said then. “How many rep meetings have we had where Thursday-night games were a big issue? Not that much.”