NFL
When was the last time an NFL game was played on a Friday?
The Green Bay Packers meet the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo this evening, just the 13th time that an NFL game has been played on a Friday.
After a thriller between the Chiefs and the Ravens to kick-start the new NFL season, football fans won’t have to wait long for their next fix.
The Green Bay Packers will take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, September 6 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This represents the first time that an NFL game has been played in South America.
The last regular season game to be played on a Friday was in late November 2023 when the New York Jets lost to the Miami Dolphins on Black Friday (November 24). Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert starred with 20 carries and two touchdowns in a 34-13 win.
Why doesn’t the NFL usually play on Friday?
The Packers - Eagles game is also a rarity as one of very few Friday games in NFL history. The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 dictates that the NFL cannot host Friday or Saturday games between the second weekend of September and the second weekend in December.
But this year - with Labor Day falling on September 2 - the upcoming weekend is considered the first of the month. Strange, but it does allow for a rare Friday night fixture and another day of NFL action for fans around the world.
How many Friday games have there been in NFL history?
Due to the legislation preventing Friday games for much of the regular season, Friday NFL matches are surprisingly rare. There have only been 12 previous Friday games in NFL history.
Strangely, the first of those came in Week 1 of the league’s inaugural post-merger season in 1970. This season’s Packers - Eagles clash will be the first specifically scheduled Friday game since that opening weekend. The other 11 Friday matches were consequences of circumstances.
Many of the Friday games came when football-playing holidays fell on Friday. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve have all been recognised NFL dates, sometimes requiring games to be played on a Friday.
The other exception to the no-Friday rule came in 2005 when the Miami Dolphins were forced to reschedule their calendar due to Hurricane Wilma. The Dolphins game against the Chiefs was moved to Friday, October 21 in a bid to beat the arrival of Hurricane Wilma to the state. That was the third time in two years that the Dolphins had moved a game due to a hurricane, but the only one that required it to be switched to a Friday.