The NFL has officially announced that Monday night football is coming to the playoffs, and the news drew mixed reactions from fans and the media.
The NFL expanded the playoffs last season by adding a wild card team to each conference. There were three Wild Card Weekend games held on Saturday and three on Sunday. Beginning in 2021, however, there will be two games on Saturday, three on Sunday and one on Monday night.
There were a variety of responses to the big change on Twitter:
This is awesome. Wean us off our Wild Card weekend. https://t.co/Qo8PtqnrhZ
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) September 24, 2021
"Super Wild Card Weekend" should now be referred to as "Super Duper Wild Card Weekend."
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 24, 2021
Monday night playoff games https://t.co/M8ThQCxTvY pic.twitter.com/01T5WplsoL
— Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff) September 24, 2021
A lot of concerns were raised over teams having to play on short rest. That already happens with some games on Sundays and some on Saturdays, but the Monday night game now guarantees a short week for the winner. The NFL will likely avoid making it even shorter by assuring that the two teams that meet on Monday night will play the following Sunday.
There will be a lot of harumphing about competitive disadvantage of playing on MNF for the next weekend. It's ok; teams can deal with it. https://t.co/ODmdsKuJOV
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) September 24, 2021
I love MNF as much as the next person but with divisional round games also played on Saturdays, does this mean that a team could potentially play Monday night then have to turn around and play Saturday? In the playoffs? https://t.co/pZKh0F1no2
— Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV) September 24, 2021
Forcing a playoff team to play on Monday night, as the NFL will do this year, is terribly unfair. But it’s a reminder: all of this is a TV show.
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) September 24, 2021
Wow…Monday night playoff game !!! I love the setup but what a huge disadvantage for the winner of that Monday night game heading into the 2nd weekend of the playoffs https://t.co/e8d0MT5C4b
— Chris Vaccaro (@ChrisVaccaroGST) September 24, 2021
Remember when the NFL wouldnt even play on Sunday night in the playoffs because it was competitive disadvantage due to the travel schedule? https://t.co/kjINGez5qh
— Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) September 24, 2021
Obviously, the NFL made the change with ratings in mind. NFL fans are already accustomed to games on Monday nights, and there is little doubt the Monday night playoff game will draw better ratings than it would have on Saturday. As with any change, however, there is sure to be plenty of opposition.
