NFL teams do not like Thursday night games. More precisely, they don't like the short week of preparation for those games. It's a mess for players and coaches. The San Francisco 49ers will host the New York Giants at Levi's Stadium on Thursday, just four days after beating the Los Angeles Rams.
Players had Monday off. On Tuesday, the 49ers will forego their normal full practice, replacing it with two lighter walkthroughs.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the problems a short week creates. He offered a pretty humorous but honest answer.
"You feel extremely rushed," Shanahan told reporters during his Tuesday press conference. "I saw the players a few hours ago, and it's the first time I saw them [this week]. Told them it was Wednesday morning, and by the end of our first meeting, it was Thursday. It's kind of how we explained it.
"And tomorrow morning is Friday. But by 10 o'clock, it's the day before the game. So it's weird. We're throwing four days into two days. As a coach and staff, we throw two days into one day. So it's kind of a ... I'm at a loss for words when I can't swear up here. It's a 'something' show as we do it.
"But then it's about retaining it when it slows down. We've got to put them all through it, the players. We just throw it all at them. We go out and walk through it twice, we go watch it. And then it'll slow down tonight when they leave, but that's usually about sleeping and catching up.
"And then tomorrow, kind of when you get to the hotel, it's like, 'All right, now it's normal,' even though it's not. But now it's Saturday night, and it's slowed down a little bit. I always love Thursdays are night games because I think it's important on the day of the game to kind of review your whole week, which is the day before, on all the stuff that came in so you don't hesitate in the game."
Kyle Shanahan describes the chaotic schedule leading up to a Thursday night game:
"Lost for words when I can't swear up here — It's a 'something' show." pic.twitter.com/wgc4UkbfPt
— KNBR (@KNBR) September 19, 2023
Quarterback Brock Purdy also feels the pressure of the short week.
"You're just trying to pack everything in within a couple of days and then being able to get your body right to play on Thursday," Purdy told reporters on Tuesday. "It's different. The preparation is just more intense for both teams. You don't get four or five days of preparation to lengthen everything out. You got two days to put it all together and roll."