10 better things to do than watch Thursday Night Football

NFL football is back tonight.

Technically.

Tonight the Washington Commanders take on the Chicago Bears from Soldier Field in Chicago. It is … a game of NFL football, featuring two, let’s call them inconsistent offenses. For many of us, the routine will kick in as it does each Thursday night during the football season. We settle in on the couch or in our favorite chair, turn on the game, and scroll social media while the contest unfolds.

But … it does not have to be that way.

We have agency! We can do, as the wise Hector Diaz says above, literally anything else. Unless, of course, you are resident Bears fan Ricky O’Donnell and you need to see how this game unfolds.

For the rest of you, if you need guidance on what else you can watch or do tonight, we are here to offer some suggestions.

Consider other things on Amazon Prime Video

Did you know they have the full library of Night Court episodes on Prime Video?

— David Fucillo

Read a book

This could be the perfect moment to tackle that pile of books sitting on your nightstand. Look, be honest with me, we are among friends here. How tall is that pile right now? For me, it is at least two books, but when you factor in the Kindle resting on top of 1775: A Good Year for Revolution and The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome, we are probably into the double-digits.

(I’m a lot of fun at parties).

But this is your night to tackle that pile. Make some headway into that novel you’ve been working through or that bit of history you’ve been struggling to finish. Seize the moment.

— Mark Schofield

Explore the vast world of content available to you

Building off David’s point above, there is simply an overwhelming amount of content available to us at this point in history. Between Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix and more streaming services, there is no way to watch it all.

But on a night like this, you can try. Or at least make some progress into finishing that show you have been binging. Two shows I’m working through right now are Poldark, which is available on Amazon Prime, and Outlander, which you can catch on Netflix. Both are lovely bits of historical fiction, with Poldark following the story of an English soldier’s return home after fighting in the Revolutionary War, and Outlander centers on a British nurse in the years after World War II who finds herself transported back in time to 1740s Scotland.

(Again, super fun at parties).

Touch grass

I beg of you, go outside! Breathe fresh air! Get off Twitter and Reddit threads about Carson Wentz and go be a family man!

— J.P. Acosta

Learn how to do the Griddy

We’ve seen some BAD griddies this year.

Zach Wilson made the Griddy look like something your mother would enjoy:

Kirk Cousins does the griddy like he’s got a torn ACL:

So I think instead of watching Thursday Night Football, people should be taught how to actually do the Griddy, so nobody makes a fool of themselves on national tv again.

— James Dator

Play Crusader Kings 3

I know this isn’t exactly a new game, but it’s new to me. I was always way too intimidated by the 9 million different mechanics in this Game of Thrones-esque feudal strategy game, but this week I decided to dive into it.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to share some long review or try to sway you. If I’m being honest, I’m mostly writing this to share what might be my favorite screenshot of all time from a game. I’ll set the scene: For years this Earl was harassing my holdings and disrupting my growth, but his allies were too strong to do anything about it. Then his old-ass died, and his 5-year-old daughter took over the kingdom.

What does any benevolent neighbor do when a child is mourning the loss of her father AND the anxiety of ruling at the same time? I WAGED WAR ON HER IMMEDIATELY AND LOCKED A CHILD IN MY DUNGEONS!

This is dirty on so many levels, even in a simulation strategy game — but imprisoning a virtual child would still feel better than watching Bears vs. Commanders.

— James Dator

Watch The Temptations movie

This is one is very personal to me. Every February BET plays The Temptations, a biopic named after the music group. It’s a fantastic movie about one of the greatest musical groups of all time, but the problem is: the movie is long as hell.

The runtime is totaled at 2 hours and 30 minutes, but it feels like the movie goes on for six hours. I’m sure you can buy it on Amazon video and sing along to classics like ‘My Girl’ and ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’ instead of watching Carson Wentz play football.

— J.P. Acosta

Play one (1) game of Monopoly

Ah yes, the board game that simultaneously ruins relationships and destroys families: Monopoly. Getting through a Monopoly game takes 3 years, and if your family or group of close ones is anything like mine, they’ll do anything to not lose (at one point during games we start pawning off chores instead of paying Monopoly money to cross properties). A wholesome game of Monopoly could be just what the family needs to get away from whatever they call going on Amazon Prime Video Thursday night.

— J.P. Acosta

Learn the way of the blade

Earlier, I wrote about plants holding machetes and non-traditional items wielding weapons. The robot uprising is upon and you must be ready. Take up your sword and become hinokami.

— J.P. Acosta

Watch a different sport

October is one of the best months of the year for sports. Beyond football, you have college football, the MLB playoffs, the return of both the NHL and the NBA, Premier League soccer, international soccer friendlies, and more.

There are plenty of other options Thursday night if you just have to watch sports. The Cleveland Guardians will square off with the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the ALDS Thursday night. Twenty NHL teams are in action Thursday night, including the New Jersey Devils taking on the Philadelphia Flyers at 7:00 p.m. ET.

If football is really what you are looking for, there are a pair of college football games on Thursday night, including Baylor at West Virginia and Temple at UCF.

Four NBA teams are in preseason action Thursday night, including Memphis at Detroit and Oklahoma City at San Antonio.

So, you even have other sports options Thursday night. You have agency!

— Mark Schofield