Why NFL is playing on a Tuesday for just the fourth time since 1948: How rare it is, how to watch, who’s out

NFL fans will get a rare treat of watching games on Tuesday to conclude Week 15, although this isn’t what the league was hoping for. Due to the Omicron variant causing a spike of COVID-19 cases across the NFL, the league rescheduled games for the first time in 2021 — moving two games from Sunday to Tuesday. 

The Washington Football Team will face the Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks battle the Los Angeles Rams Tuesday night, with both at 7 p.m. ET — just the fourth time the league will host games on a Tuesday since 1948. 

History of NFL on Tuesday

There have been a total of 10 NFL games played on a Tuesday in the league’s 102-year history. This includes All-American Football Conference games played on a Tuesday night. These are the seven NFL and AAFC games played in the 1940s:

• September 16, 1941 — Cleveland Rams 10, Chicago Cardinals 6
• September 26, 1944 — Philadelphia Eagles 28, Boston Yanks 7
• September 25, 1945 — Boston/Brooklyn Yanks/Tigers 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 7
• October 1, 1946 — New York Giants 17, Boston Yanks 7
• October 8, 1946 — San Francisco 49ers 34, Miami Seahawks 7 (AAFC)
• December 3, 1946 — Cleveland Browns 34, Miami Seahawks 0 (AAFC)
• October 5, 1948 — Cleveland Browns 14, Baltimore Colts 10 (AAFC)

Only three NFL games have been played on Tuesday since 1948, all within the last 11 years:

• December 28, 2010 — Minnesota Vikings 24, Philadelphia Eagles 14
• October 13, 2020 — Tennessee Titans 42, Buffalo Bills 16
• December 8, 2020 — Baltimore Ravens 34, Dallas Cowboys 17 

What teams are playing tonight?

This is the first time in NFL history multiple games will be played on a Tuesday — and in the same time slot

• Washington Football Team at Philadelphia Eagles (-6.5), 7 p.m. ET (how to watch, preview here)
• Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams (-7), 7 p.m. ET (how to watch, preview here)

Interestingly enough, this is the third time the Eagles have played on a Tuesday night, tying the Boston Yanks for the most appearances on a Tuesday. The Rams will be playing on a Tuesday for the second time in franchise history, but for the first time since 1941. 

The Seahawks nickname — not affiliated with the current Seahawks franchise — will be playing on a Tuesday for the third time. Washington will be playing on a Tuesday for the first time, the final NFC East team to play on the day.  

With both games on Fox, how do I watch?

Since both games were originally part of the Sunday regional window on Fox, the league is having Fox broadcast both at the same time. The blue region with get Seattle-Los Angeles while the red region gets Washington-Philadelphia:

 If you have NFL Sunday ticket, you can watch the game not in your broadcast window. 

Why are there games on Tuesday this week? 

The Omicron variant has swept the country as COVID-19 cases are rising each day — and across the NFL. The Rams had a significant COVID-19 outbreak last Thursday, placing nine players on the reserve/COVID-19 list — which rose their number of players on the list to 29 — forcing the NFL’s hand in postponement of the game. Washington had up to 20 players on the list when the NFL postponed their game with the Eagles. 

“We have made these schedule changes based on medical advice and after discussion with the NFLPA as we are seeing a new, highly transmissible form of the virus this week resulting in a substantial increase in cases across the league,” the NFL announced in a statement Friday. “We continue to make decisions in consultation with medical experts to ensure the health and safety of the NFL community.”

Los Angeles has 13 players on the COVID-19 list as of Monday (not including practice squad or players on injured reserve). Washington has 13 and several coaches on the list.

Players on COVID list for each team playing Tuesday:

This list does not include practice squad players. All the NFL players on the reserve/COVID-19 list can be found in our tracker here: 

Philadelphia Eagles 

• T Andre Dillard (Dec. 20)
• OL Landon Dickerson (Dec. 20)

Washington Football Team 

• G Brandon Scherff (Dec. 20)
• QB Taylor Heinicke (Dec. 17)
• S Kam Curl (Dec. 16)
• C Tyler Larsen (Dec. 16)
• CB Troy Apke (Dec. 15)
• QB Kyle Allen (Dec. 15)
• LB Milo Eifler (Dec. 15)
• S Darrick Forrest (Dec. 15)
• OT Cornelius Lucas (Dec. 15)
• TE Sammis Reyes (Dec. 15)
• DB Kendall Fuller (Dec. 14)
• DT Tim Settle (Dec. 14)
• LB David Mayo (Dec. 13) 

Seattle Seahawks 

• DT Bryan Mone (Dec. 20)
• DE Kerry Hyder Jr. (Dec. 19)
• RB Travis Homer (Dec. 19)
• T Brandon Shell (Dec. 19)
• CB D.J. Reed (Dec. 19)
• WR Tyler Lockett (Dec. 16)
• RB Alex Collins (Dec. 16)

Los Angeles Rams 

• T Joseph Noteboom (Dec. 18)
• TE Tyler Higbee (Dec. 17)
• OG Jamil Demby (Dec. 17)
• LB Von Miller (Dec. 16)
• DB Antoine Brooks Jr. (Dec. 16)
• DB Jake Gervase (Dec. 16)
• LB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (Dec. 16)
• TE Johnny Mundt (Dec. 15)
• TE Jared Pinkney (Dec. 15)
• DB Terrell Burgess (Dec. 14)
• DB Jordan Fuller (Dec. 14)
• DB Juju Hughes (Dec. 14)
• T Rob Havenstein (Dec. 13)