The Buffalo Bills have been in this spot before.
Back in Week 3, the Bills dealt with the short week from Sunday to Thursday and eked out a win over the Miami Dolphins.
It's Week 12 now, and the Bills are doing it again. They're in Houston for their longest road distance trip of the season to take on the Texans on Thursday night after having just played at home on Sunday.
If something about that feels weird, it's because it is unusual. Very few NFL teams have to play two such games in the same year. And until recently, it wasn't possible.
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Why are the Bills playing on Thursday night again?
Buffalo has its second short turnaround Thursday Night Football game because of a rule change the NFL made before the 2023 season.
Prior to 2023, each team in the league could only have one Thursday game that had been immediately preceded by playing on Sunday.
That was changed, though, so each team can now have up to two of those games.
But there are only so many Thursdays, so the vast majority of NFL teams don't have to deal with this tough spot more than once.
For example, the AFC East-leading Patriots just played their only Thursday game, when they crushed the Jets.
There's nothing easy about Thursday games that come just four days after a Sunday game. Recovery and gameplan time are shorter. Rhythms are all thrown off.
When Joey Bosa was asked about playing on Thursday nights before Week 3's game, he said:
"It's tough. I learned today that we have another Thursday game coming up, which was a shot in the heart."
The best thing the Bills can do is come away with a win. They get the mini-bye after Thursday since they won't play until a week from Sunday.
But in the moment, it's a tough task at hand.
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