In the past 70 years, there have been two NFL games played on Tuesdays.
On Oct. 13, 2020, the Tennessee Titans emerged from quarantine and, without much practice, beat the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills 42-16.
On Dec. 28, 2010, the Vikings sat around their snowbound Philadelphia hotel for three days before beating a good Eagles team 24-14 with backup quarterback Joe Webb.
NFL coaches love routine. They love regimentation. They can't prove that routine and regimentation win games.
So as the Vikings and Falcons prepared to play on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium despite a Falcons player and staffer testing positive for the coronavirus this week, no one should fret if the game winds up being postponed, or if the regular season winds up taking 22 weeks instead of 17, or if we see the advent of Every-Other-Wednesday Night Football.
The NFL already is conducting a grand and cynical experiment on whether large rosters practicing in 32 American cities can play a contact sport over five months during a pandemic. The league might as well conduct scheduling experiments. League bosses have never let tradition stop them before.
Remember, the league once played all of its games on Sunday afternoons.
Monday Night Football was an immediate success and remains appointment viewing for football fans. Sunday Night Football is a success. Thursday Night Football is widely considered a dubious exercise, but that's mostly because the game isn't always broadcast on over-the-air channels, and often features mediocre teams.
