Visiting offenses have been garbage on Thursday Night (1 Viewer)

[The_Man]

It's only been two games, but the visiting offenses in both NFL Network Thursday night games have been total garbage.

Denver put up 10 points at KC, and rushed for about 40 yards. After winning 5 straight and playing decent offense under Billick's play-calling, the Ravens were shut out by an average Bengals D until the last minute.

The visiting teams for these games have to be on the plane by midday Wednesday. There's basically no time to game plan and practice, and the resulting offensive performances have shown how out of synch the teams are.

Now you've got Cleveland with a first-time starter at QB in this situation. Is there any reason to believe the Browns are going to be able to do what neither Denver nor Baltimore could do, and put up even as much as 13 points?

 

[Marc Levin]

I'd guess trend - short week always favors the team hanging in their hometown rather than having to pack in a short week of preparation among the travel time - can't rest much on Monday after Sunday since you have a short week and then you leave town Thursday during the day when you are normally practicing for a Sunday game.

Thurs. games always favor the home team (Thanksgiving this year was 2-1 in favor of the home teams, too).

 

[Godsbrother]

I think this week wil be no different, except that I don't see the Steelers scoring that much either. This game could be a real snoozer if you don't have anyone playing or aren't a Steelers or Browns fan.

 

[Black Box]

Well, the Browns won't have to travel that far for this trip (were they home on Sunday?), so maybe they can buck the trend...

 

[Chase Stuart]

From 1983-1999...

Average score of Thursday games (N=60): 23.6-20.1 (in favor of the home team)

Average score of Sunday games (N=3532): 22.0-19.0(in favor of the home team)

 

[The_Man]

From 1983-1999...Average score of Thursday games (N=60): 23.6-20.1 (in favor of the home team)Average score of Sunday games (N=3532): 22.0-19.0(in favor of the home team)

I'm not sure how much that tells us, though, since since at least 17 of those 60 Thursday games involved the Lions -- and I'm willing to bet they usually scored much worse than the league average in most of those years.If the Lions were able to perform as well as the rest of the NFL during Thursday home games during that span, and were much worse on Sunday home games, that would indicate they did enjoy an added advantage.

 

[The_Man]

Another Thursday Night, another garbage performance by the visiting offense.

Doesn't bode well for Frank Gore heading into Seattle next Thursday.