Is Thursday Night Football Good Now?

After a month’s worth of Thursday night games, let’s look back at what we’ve seen thus far.

Week 1- Eagles get their rings, win 18-12 over the Falcons.
Week 2 – AJ Green catches three TDs, Bengals beat Ravens 34-23.
Week 3 – The Browns won a professional football game that didn’t take place in the preseason. Baker Mayfield made his professional debut. The first quarter was the worst quarter of football played since the advent of the forward pass. It was awesome and perfect in every way.
Week 4- The Rams and the Vikings combine for over 1,000 yards. Jared Goff and Kirk Cousins threw darts all over the field for three quarters. It was one of the most visually appealing uniform matchups these eyes have ever seen.

Does that constitute as “good”? For TNF standards, buddy… you better believe it. Does it help that the Rams are one of the two best teams in the NFL right now? Absolutely. The NFL said they were going to put better matchups on Thursdays and for 3/4 weeks they’ve delivered. Browns/Jets didn’t look like the greatest game on paper but admit it that game had you hooked from the opening kick. In years past we would have had that Titans-Jags 9-6 game from last weekend on with no other options. At least when that game takes place on Sunday afternoon you can just watch Redzone and pretend it isn’t even happening.

And while the games have been good, I’m not entirely sure it’s just the scheduling. I think football is just really fucking good again. Most teams either have established good quarterbacks or young exciting quarterbacks who could be good in a few years. That’s certainly more than enough to get me to tune in. Especially when you have Goff and Cousins out there slinging dimes all over the joint.

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I don’t think anyone alive enjoys drawing up a play that works more than Sean McVay. I almost want a McVay cam during games. I just want to see the wheels churning in his head on 2nd-and-7 from his own 38. Imagine Saban or Belichick chest bumping in the first half of a Week 4 game?

I realize he hasn’t won anything of note yet but you’re lying out your ass if you say McVay hasn’t turned the Rams into must watch television since he usurped Jeff Fisher.

He’s even got his punter looking off the secondary and throwing strikes.

No Aqib Talib? No problem. Really doesn’t matter who’s in the secondary when you’ve got Ndamukong Suh playing next to Aaron Donald, a move I still cannot believe the NFL allowed.

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m very, VERY happy Aaron Donald has never hit me. I hope to keep that 29 year streak alive and well for at least another 29 years.

Sam Shields making a comeback is a quietly awesome story. Not the greatest comeback story of all time by any means, just quietly very cool. Tonight was his first start since Week One in 2016 after he sat out all of 2017 with concussions. He got shook like a wet dog coming in from the rain on this play and made the full recovery for the pass break up. That’s a winning play, Charles Greane.

YG was in the building getting TD balls, Goff had a perfect quarterback rating, and the only person complaining about the flags was Xavier Rhodes.

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For at least these last four weeks, Thursday Night Football has been alive and well.