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Matt Patricia wants to keep his guys rested. Ron Rivera wants to keep his dry.

Both the Lions and the Panthers are having non-traditional work weeks, in preparation for Sunday’s game.

Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Patricia put the Lions through a walk-through instead of a normal day of practice. But that was a reaction to their upcoming schedule, which features a short week of prep before next week’s Thanksgiving game.

“I think I told everybody that somewhere around Thanksgiving, having three games in 12 days, or whatever it is, we’ll probably have some walk-through type practice in there to try to conserve ourselves physically here,” Patricia said. “I would say especially with a Carolina group that’s obviously a real physical football team coming in here and we’re coming off a stretch where we’ve been on the road, playing some physical games. Just right thing to do for today.”

The Panthers are just taking the day off to stay dry.

With drenching rains settled into Charlotte all week, the Panthers are flipping the usual Thursday practice and Friday walk-through, since they don’t have an indoor facility.

They’ve used local fitness centers, hotel ballrooms, stadium concourses and the nearby convention center in the past, on the few days per year weather is a factor in North Carolina.

Panthers owner David Tepper has promised to build a new indoor facility for his new team, to keep them from being at a “competitive disadvantage.” Of course, it will be part of a mixed-use development project designed to funnel more revenue into his pockets, but some local municipality will end up forking over public money to help build it.

Which means instead of the Panthers getting soaked a handful of days a year, taxpayers will sign up for the privilege year-round.