The Seattle Seahawks elected to rework their practice schedule for Week 17 to allow for Christmas Day off on Thursday.
Gregg Bell shared this news Tuesday afternoon:
The Seahawks benefit from a long week after playing on Thursday Night Football in Week 16, especially so with how the monumental game went hosting the Los Angeles Rams. They have 9 days in between games as opposed to the usual 6. With the taste of victory still lingering, head coach Mike Macdonald and the players’ leadership council were able to choose how to spend their typical week’s practice schedule with some wiggle room in between. They chose to take a 3-day weekend Friday through Sunday and reset with a normal practice schedule this week. Today was their first “real” practice of the week, as they went through their day-after-game agenda on Monday. They’ll also practice tomorrow before taking Christmas Day off, then travel to Carolina Friday with a day in hand to get on the East Coast timezone and conduct their walkthrough practice.
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This long week couldn’t come at a better time for the Seahawks. They had to play two games in five days last week, plus a grueling overtime period, but put themselves atop the NFC by the end. Every team’s bodies have been spent by this final stretch of the season, especially when faced with a short week by the time the season used to already end. The Seahawks look to have a particularly long season by staying alive through the NFC playoffs, and if they can beat the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers on the road, they’ll get to rest again when those two have to play in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Not only does this long week give them a Christmas break of sorts to spend time with their families, but it also could give them a slight advantage in recovery to stay atop their conference through the end of the regular season.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks vs Panthers: Seattle adjusts practice schedule for Christmas