There could be a three-day Wild-Card Weekend in 2022 for the NFL playoffs.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday the league is toying with the idea of having a Monday Night Wild-Card game rather than tripleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.
This is interesting: The NFL is tinkering with its Super Wild Card Weekend format, I’m told, likely to have it conclude on a Monday night. This means two games Saturday, three games Sunday… and one Monday with a broadcast partner to be determined. Fun change.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 24, 2021
One possible explanation for such maneuvering is the date of the Super Bowl itself, which has been pushed a week to Feb. 13.
The College Football Playoff championship is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2022.
The NFL regular season ends Jan. 9, 2022. There is no Monday Night Football game on the final week of the season, meaning the CFP championship would not go head-to-head with an NFL MNF game.
That opens the Monday night window on Jan. 17, 2022, for the NFL to schedule a Wild-Card game on what would be a date without football.