It’s only Week 3 of the NFL season, but Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is already questioning the league’s schedule.
During Wednesday’s episode of “First Take,” Russo went on a rant about the Atlanta Falcons (0-2) having three straight prime-time games. That stretch begins this Thursday night when they face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
“Atlanta is on TV the next three weeks. They play Green Bay Thursday night, nobody in America wants to see that,” Russo said. “They play the Saints, I think that’s a Monday night game, good luck Joe [Buck] and Troy [Aikman]. And then they have the Ravens on the Sunday night, good luck [Cris] Collinsworth and [Mike] Tirico. Who in the world thought it would be a good idea to schedule the Atlanta Falcons three straight times on national television?”
It’s hard to blame Russo for feeling this way. The Falcons have been a disaster through the first two weeks due to their quarterback situation. The good news, however, is that Michael Penix Jr. is returning from a torn ACL this Thursday.
The return of Penix should make the Falcons much more entertaining to watch – albeit the bar is pretty low.
Brett Davis-Imagn Images
It’s not just the Falcons.
Russo also has an issue with the Washington Commanders having two prime-time games in October against the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers.
If Jayden Daniels isn’t cleared in time for those two games, NFL fans will watch Marcus Mariota make a couple of nationally-televised starts.
Last but not least, Russo isn’t thrilled about the Los Angeles Chargers having a few marquee matchups on CBS and FOX. He thinks Jim Harbaugh’s squad is on pace to be an utter disaster this fall.
