There’s a definite advantage to an NFL team getting a bye week, but the 49ers aren’t getting the full benefit that others have this season.
The players reported to practice Monday after their last game took place six days ago, a 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The team that received the exact same offseason is the 49ers’ Week 10 opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Through nine games, the 49ers have had the disadvantage of playing twice against opponents who took advantage of a week of rest before the contest. The Cleveland Browns’ bye came in Week 5 and the following week, they hosted a 49ers team that also had to travel east for the contest.
Two weeks later, the 49ers hosted the well-rested Bengals right after their Week 7 bye in Cincinnati. Both games were losses to the 49ers, who clearly did not have the upper hand in terms of player recovery time and preparation.
Instead of finally having the advantage of rest over their opponent in Week 10, the 49ers are not only playing a team that has had the same amount of rest, they will be traveling to the East Coast once again to do so.
The NFL scheduling team faces the difficult task of creating an 18-week schedule for 32 teams that now includes a full slate of Thursday night games, plus three games on Thanksgiving Day. This is where the 49ers are once again He drew the short stick.
There are a few teams that will play twice on Thursday night in 2023, and the 49ers are one of them. Playing on Thursday creates a very short workweek for team preparation and recovery. The 49ers played their first “Thursday Night Football” game in Week 3 and will do so again on Thanksgiving night in Seattle against the Seahawks.
Not only are the 49ers the team traveling to Thursday’s second game again, but two of the other teams scheduled for two TNF games are playing their second after a full week of preparation and rest.
The Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys will play their second TNF game the week following their Thanksgiving Day games. This gives them a regular week between competitions rather than two matches with a short week before the second.
There are four other teams scheduled to play two games on Thursday — the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, who all play on Thanksgiving, and the New York Jets, who shortened the week before and final Black Friday game. Thursday night game in Week 18.
The 49ers head into their game after a week off — and they expect Deebo Samuel to return after missing two games with a shoulder injury — but not with all the usual benefits of having a week off. Although there is no way to make the NFL schedule completely fair, it appears that the 49ers’ opponents have had the upper hand in more ways than one.
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