Analyst's idea to bag 'TNF' for 'MNF' doubleheader makes perfect sense

Meanwhile, in Miami, the Dolphins saw a 14-point lead vanish in under three minutes as rookie quarterback Will Levis engineered two touchdown drives to give the Tennessee Titans a stunning 28-27 win.

These two climaxes ought to be cherished in a season in which quality prime-time games have been hard to come by. This was not lost on NFL Network fantasy analyst Adam Rank, who has an interesting prime-time proposal: 

"TNF" refers, of course, to "Thursday Night Football," a manufactured money grab straight from the league office that is an affront to teams and their fans.

Players' issues with "TNF" are well-documented. The two chief concerns are a lack of preparation time from the previous week — only three full days between Sunday and Thursday — and an increased risk of injuries from playing two games in such a short span.

From a fan's perspective, "TNF" games are excruciating. This season's "TNF" slate has given us awful Carolina-Chicago and New England-Pittsburgh games and others.

To kick off Week 15, the Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) will face the Las Vegas Raiders (5-8) on "TNF." The Chargers will be without quarterback Justin Herbert (fractured finger) while the Raiders are coming off an ugly 3-0 loss to Minnesota.

This is what passes for a prime-time matchup?

Why not scrap the Thursday night games and have two Monday night games each week, giving fans the option of which game to watch as opposed to making them sit through a potential clunker?

Eliminating "TNF" would not buck any sort of longstanding tradition. The NFL "TNF" package went to double-digit games a season only in 2012. 

On the other hand, "MNF" has been an institution since 1970, and the franchise is starting to come back around after a few down years. An increased production quality — led by broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman — and a more attractive slate of games have given "MNF" its best ratings in decades, per Front Office Sports. The tandem strikes of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have also contributed to the "MNF" ratings boom with ABC simulcasting ESPN's game broadcast.

Monday nights can be strengthened even more with the permanent addition of a second game, especially if it comes at the expense of "TNF." NFL fans survived without Thursday night games for years. It's a fair trade-off for more quality football.