Since it started in its current format as the NFL’s main primetime package in 2006, the defining feature of NBC’s Sunday Night Football has been the use of flexible scheduling to ensure the best matchups and showcase the best teams as the season goes along. Well, that’s the theory, anyway; the reality has not always lived up to the initial hype and has at times seemed downright mystifying. Regardless, I’m here to help you figure out what you can and can’t expect to see on Sunday nights on NBC.
A full explanation of all the factors that go into flexible scheduling decisions can be found on my NFL Flexible Scheduling Primer, but here’s the Cliffs Notes version with all the important points you need to know:
- The season can be broken down into three different periods (four if you count the first four weeks where flexible scheduling does not apply at all) for flexible scheduling purposes, each with similar yet different rules governing them: the early flex period, from weeks 5 to 10; the main flex period, from weeks 11 to 17; and week 18. In years where Christmas forces either the Sunday afternoon slate or the Sunday night game to Saturday in Week 16, flex scheduling does not apply that week, and the main flex period begins week 10. Note: This year NBC’s press release indicated that the main flex period begins in Week 11 even though Christmas falls on Sunday. I’m assuming this is correct and the result of NBC still being able to have six weeks in the main flex period despite this because of the expansion of the season.
- In all cases, only games scheduled for Sunday may be moved to Sunday night. Thursday and Monday night games are not affected by Sunday night flexible scheduling (discounting the “flexible scheduling” applied to Saturdays in December in recent years – see below).
- During the early and main flex periods, one game is “tentatively” scheduled for Sunday night and listed with the Sunday night start time of 8:20 PM ET. This game will usually remain at that start time and air on NBC, but may be flexed out for another game and moved to 1, 4:05, or 4:25 PM ET on Fox or CBS, no less than 12 days in advance of the game.
- No more than two games can be flexed to Sunday night over the course of the early flex period. If the NFL wishes to flex out a game in the early flex period twelve days in advance, CBS and Fox may elect to protect one game each from being moved to Sunday night. This is generally an emergency valve in situations where the value of the tentative game has plummeted since the schedule was announced, namely in cases of injury to a key star player.
- CBS and Fox may also each protect games, historically in five out of six weeks of the main flex period, but all of those protections must be submitted after week 5, week 4 in years where the main flex period begins week 10 (so it is always six weeks before the start of the main flex period).
- No team may appear more than six times across the league’s three primetime packages on NBC, ESPN, and Fox/NFL Network, and only three teams are allowed to appear that often, with everyone else getting five. In addition, no team may appear more than four times on NBC. All teams’ number of appearances heading into this season may be seen here.
- According to the league’s official page, teams are notified when “they are no longer under consideration or eligible for a move to Sunday night.” However, they rarely make this known to the fans, and the list of each network’s protections has never officially been made public. It used to leak fairly regularly, but has not leaked since 2014.
- In all cases, the NFL is the ultimate arbiter of the schedule and consults with CBS, Fox, and NBC before moving any games to prime time. If the NFL does elect to flex out the Sunday night game, the network whose game is flexed in may receive the former tentative game, regardless of which network would “normally” air it under the “CBS=AFC, Fox=NFC” rules, keeping each network’s total number of games constant. At the same time, the NFL may also move games between 1 PM ET and 4:05/4:25 PM ET. However, this feature focuses primarily if not entirely on Sunday night flexible scheduling.
- In Week 18, the entire schedule is set on only six days notice, ensuring that NBC gets a game with playoff implications, generally a game where the winner is the division champion. More rarely, NBC may also show an intra-division game for a wild card spot, or a game where only one team wins the division with a win but doesn’t win the division with a loss, but such situations are rare and 2018 and 2020, respectively, were the first times it showed such games. If no game is guaranteed to have maximum playoff implications before Sunday night in this fashion, the league has been known not to schedule a Sunday night game at all. To ensure maximum flexibility, no protections or appearance limits apply to Week 17. The NFL also arranges the rest of the schedule such that no team playing at 4:25 PM ET (there are no 4:05 games Week 17) could have their playoff fate decided by the outcome of the 1 PM ET games, which usually means most if not all of the games with playoff implications outside Sunday night are played at 4:25 PM ET, except for two games moved to Saturday to be simulcast on ESPN and ABC.
Here are the current tentatively-scheduled games and my predictions:
Week 11 (November 20):
- Selected game: Kansas City @ LA Chargers.
Week 12 (November 27):
- Tentative game: Green Bay @ Philadelphia
- Prospects: 3-6 v. 8-0, definitely lopsided but still pitting Aaron Rodgers against the league’s last unbeaten team, and the name value of the teams involved may yet save this game despite some decent alternatives.
- Likely protections: Ravens-Jaguars, Bengals-Titans, Chargers-Cardinals, or nothing (CBS) and Rams-Chiefs, Saints-49ers, or nothing (FOX).
- Other possible games: Thanksgiving weekend, paucity of good games; Bengals-Titans is the only Sunday game involving two teams at or above .500, though Falcons-Warnocks pits two 4-5 teams. Rams-Chiefs would be a dark horse with more time.
- Analysis: It pretty much comes down to Bengals-Titans, a battle of two teams just over .500 in the thick of the playoff mix. The teams’ records are concerning, though the Bengals are on bye this week so neither team can actually fall to .500, but the real question is whether or not Bengals-Titans has the name value to overcome the tentative, and Joe Burrow aside I don’t think it does. I definitely don’t think the tentative loses its spot if the Eagles are still unbeaten, but even if the Eagles and Packers lose to their NFC East opponents while the Titans win to climb to 6-3, I still think NBC would rather have Aaron Rodgers against the NFC East than a pair of small-market AFC teams. I wouldn’t be too surprised by a flex if the Eagles finally go down Monday, but I just don’t think there’s enough firepower to pull the trigger.
- Final prediction: Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles (no change).
Week 13 (December 4):
- Tentative game: Indianapolis @ Dallas
- Prospects: 3-5-1 v. 6-2. Getting lopsided, and it might not be a good idea to feature a team that fired its coach, but a good Cowboys team is almost certainly not being flexed out.
- Likely protections: Jets-Vikings, Chiefs-Bengals, or nothing (CBS) and Titans-Eagles or Dolphins-49ers (FOX).
- Other possible games: Jets-Vikings and Titans-Eagles each involve two teams over .500 with Chiefs-Bengals probably being disqualified due to the Chiefs being maxed out (though Chiefs-Broncos next week is decently likely to be flexed out); Dolphins-Niners and Genericnames-Giants involve 4-win teams. Broncos-Ravens and Seahawks-Rams are dark horses with Packers-Bears still clinging to being worthy of mention.
Week 14 (December 11):
- Tentative game: Kansas City @ Denver
- Prospects: 6-2 v. 3-5. The Broncos are not living up to the hype of Russell Wilson’s arrival, and this game could still be concerningly lopsided.
- Likely protections: Jets-Bills or Dolphins-Chargers (CBS) and Bucs-49ers or Eagles-Giants (FOX).
- Other possible games: Eagles-Giants and Jets-Bills would be surefire picks to be flexed in at the moment if they’re left unprotected, and Dolphins-Chargers would be in the running as well if the Chargers weren’t maxed out. Browns-Bengals and Bucs-Niners are dark horses while Jaguars-Titans might be a very distant contender.
Week 15 (December 18):
- Tentative game: New England @ Las Vegas
- Prospects: 4-4 v. 2-5, not exactly what NBC was hoping for but reasonably resilient to a potential flex given the name value of the teams and this being the week with a flexed-in Saturday slate.
- Likely protections: Probably Titans-Chargers (CBS) and Cowboys-Jaguars, Eagles-Bears, or nothing (FOX).
- Other possible games: As usual, assuming the games set aside for a potential move to Saturday can’t be protected; Dolphins-Bills is the clear favorite on the slate right now, followed by Giants-Riveras and the other three games just competing to see which one has the least bad worse team. Unfortunately Titans-Chargers (now doubly out of the running) is the only other game on the Sunday slate pitting two teams above .500, with Bengals-Bucs, Eagles-Bears, and Cowboys-Jaguars as the most viable dark horses, likely leaving NBC stuck.
Week 17 (January 1):
- Tentative game: LA Rams @ LA Chargers
- Prospects: 3-5 v. 5-3. Decidedly mediocre, and might start getting lopsided. If the Rams continue to slide this game may be very much at risk, especially given the alternatives.
- Likely protections: Vikings-Packers (CBS) and Saints-Eagles, Jets-Seahawks, or nothing (FOX).
- Other possible games: Jets-Seahawks is starting to look like a real threat to be flexed in (especially since it’s currently pinned to the late slot of the singleheader), while Dolphins-Patriots makes a second game involving two teams over .500. Colts-Giants, Cardinals-Falcons, Broncos-Chiefs, Saints-Eagles, and Browns-Snyders are dark horses.
Week 18 (January 8):
- Tentative game: None (NBC will show game with guaranteed playoff implications).
- Games to watch: Bucs-Falcons, Patriots-Bills, Ravens-Bengals, Jets-Dolphins, Giants-Eagles, Cowboys-NotIndians, Cardinals-Niners.
https://506sports.com/
week 10 coverage maps
I’m just here for Walt’s comments
LOL on “Mrs. Gekko” (there is no such):
Anyway, an updated repost:
Week 11: Bengals-Steelers was flexed out for Chiefs-Chargers, which always looked to make the most sense.
Week 12: With the Pack losing to the Lions, UNLESS they beat the Cowboys on Sunday, this game is now very likely to be flexed out even if it is Aaron Rodgers against an unbeaten Eagles squad. Bengals-Titans, which has playoff implications in both conferences, especially since Bengals-Steelers got flexed out in Week 11 (and Joe Burrow vs. Derrick Henry is still an intriguing matchup in itself). The only reason Packers-Eagles may stay is because of a situation where the Titans may be up for possible flexes three times between Weeks 12, 13 and 15 and they can ONLY be flexed into SNF twice due to the fact they have TWO Thursday night appearances coming up: Week 11 ironically in Green Bay against the Packers and then Week 17 at home against the Cowboys and already have played two prime time games. That said, there have also been rumors Bears-Jets could be flexed into SNF and even if the Bears are out of the running for a playoff spot, they are showing to be a competitive team of late and the Jets have been a major surprise. Having two big-market teams replace Packers-Eagles might be more appealing.
Week 13: Cowboys could keep this game on SNF, however, the Colts have been so putrid they could easily be 3-6-1 when this decision has to be made. With Frank Reich now FIRED and the Colts clearly looking dysfunctional, it’s looking like they may not win another game the rest of the way. ESPECIALLY if Packers-Eagles is flexed out of SNF due to the Pack’s problems), Titans-Eagles replaces Colts-Cowboys on SNF and CBS makes Colts-Cowboys their main 1:00 PM ET game that week, and now it’s looking like the Eagles may actually be playing back-to-back home Sunday night games (unless Bears-Jets gets flexed into Week 12) because I suspect they will save the second Titans flex for Week 15 due to how far the Raiders have fallen.
Week 14: Broncos have been a massive disappointment and I could see if the Giants continue to play like they are AND it’s not protected by FOX Eagles-Giants moved to SNF. Otherwise, Dolphins-Chargers, currently in 4:05 purgatory could be moved to SNF and even if CBS has to move another game to 4:05 to replace it there.
Week 15: Pats-Raiders on really shaky ground as the Raiders are not only 2-5 it looks like Josh McDaniels could be fired before this game takes place. Titans-Chargers is looking very possible for this spot since both teams are likely to be in the playoff hunt.
Week 16 doesn’t have a flex. This is where the NFL should have had the bulk of the games on Monday, December 26 (day after Christmas that is the actual legal holiday for such) though as noted I suspect the station managers of FOX affiliates objected to that due to their having numerous pre-emptions during the World Cup in November and December and the syndicators of shows that normally air on FOX stations in the daytime probably made clear they could not pre-empt for NFL games on 12/26 since the week of 12/26-30 likely is re-airs of shows that first aired during the World Cup pre-empted by FOX affiliates. Otherwise, it would have set up for ESPN/ABC to have a flex that Monday night. If the Christmas Eve slate had been played the day after Christmas instead, FOX likely would have protected one of Giants-Vikings and Eagles-Cowboys. In that scenario, whichever of those games NOT protected by FOX would likely have been the game moved into ESPN/ABC’s Monday night slot.
Week 17: Rams-Chargers now is in danger because the Rams have been faltering and just are not the team they were a year ago. Jets-Seahawks right now looks like a prime candidate since that is unlikely to be protected (and it’s in 4:05 purgatory), especially if the Jets are still in contention for a wild card in the AFC when that decision has to be made.
Week 18: If Giants-Eagles is for the NFC East, THAT is the Sunday Night finale (and if the Eagles are 16-0 going into Week 18, it could be put there anyway if for the Giants the game matters regardless of the outcome of earlier games for a Wild Card while otherwise it likely in that scenario becomes the 8:15 PM ET game on Saturday solely because of the Eagles looking for 17-0). If Jets-Dolphins matters for a wild card no matter what happens in the earlier games on Sunday (unless the Bills falter), THAT is the Sunday night game (though that is also a candidate for Saturday). If Rams-Seahawks is for the NFC West OR a Wild Card regardless of the outcome of earlier games, THAT is the SNF Finale and also is a candidate for Saturday otherwise. If Bucs-Falcons is for the NFC South and the Saints have faded by then, THAT can be the SNF Finale as well.
I do agree that rams vs. chargers game on week 17 SNF is in danger because of the rams struggling this season. Also, Vikings vs. Packers game at Lambeau field at 3:25 pm game on CBS is currently in danger thanks to the Packers that has been struggling this season. But I will predict that next season Green Bay Packers will have 1 or 2 games on tv channel CBS like Packers vs. Chiefs at Lambeau Field and MN Vikings vs. Packers at Lambeau field. Another scenario next season could be Vikings vs. Packers at Lambeau Field Sunday night football NBC because that matchup would be a big draw thanks to the likelihood of the MN Vikings going to clinch the NFC North title this season.
What’s everyone’s thoughts on the Saturday week 15 games?
Bills Fish going to be the late game.
Browns Ravens potential 4:00 p.m.
Giants versus team lawsuit 1:00 p.m.
Giants team lawsuit Sunday 1 pm
Any chance Rams Chiefs for the Fox 325 game gets flexed out because the Rams look really really bad and now Cooper Kupp could be out for a while.
It sounds that Bears Jets is almost 100% gonna be the flex for packers eagles, also if you didnt hear snf just hinted at the flex saying they might be in New York week 12 Sunday night
Welp Bears Jets IS going to be the snf game week 12, nfl kinda dropped the ball but hey two big market teams means more $$$….
NOPE, Packers win and Bears loss pretty much locks in Packers-Eagles SNF.
Dude seriously did you not hear Bears Jets is the snf game for week 12
John:
I suspect it would be Bears-Jets as what I think happens is we also see Titans-Eagles replace Colts-Cowboys in Week 13. Even with the Colts winning, it was against the Raiders, who are in such total freefall that Titans-Chargers likely becomes Week 15 SNF (and that is why Bengals-Titans would be out of the running as the Titan’s as noted above would NOT be flexed). Only reason Bears-Jets would NOT be flexed is the Lions going into their building and beating the Bears, which, coupled with the Pack beating the Cowboys may be enough to save Pack-Eagles from being flexed out of Week 12.
With the Commanders just beating the undefeated Eagles on Monday Night Football and with the Packers beating the Cowboys yesterday, I think Packers at Eagles in week 12 on SNF will remain in the SNF Slot.
Yes, Robert. I agree. Packers vs eagles game at Philadelphia on week 12 should stay on SNF thanks to Packers beat Dallas cowboys on overtime at home Lambeau Field this past Sunday night.
Hello NFL SNF Flex Scheduling lovers,
Here’s my take on things after Week 10.
Main Flex period:
Week 12 – scheduled game is: G.B.(4-6) @ Phil.(8-1)
# 1 – Cin.(5-4) @ Tenn.(6-3)
The only real alternative in my book is Bengals/Titans if they boot my Packers off, which they should. With my Pack beating the Cowboys on Sunday and the Eagles losing tonight against the Commanders, I think there’s ZERO chance the scheduled tentative gets booted now.
Week 13 – scheduled game is: Ind.(4-5-1) @ Dal.(6-3)
#1 – N.Y.J.(6-3) @ Minn.(8-1)
#2 – Tenn.(6-3) @ Phil.(8-1)
#3 – Mia.(7-3) @ S.F.(5-4)
#4 – K.C.(7-2) @ Cin.(5-4)
#5 – Wash.(5-5) @ N.Y.G.(7-2)
I think Jets/Vikings could be a very nice flex option here and I highly doubt it’s protected, though with the Colts winning and the Cowboys losing this week, the chances are greatly enhanced to keep the scheduled tentative in place. Hopefully the NFL does the right thing.
Week 14 – scheduled game is: K.C.(7-2) @ Den.(3-6)
#1 – Phil.(8-1) @ N.Y.G.(7-2)
#2 – N.Y.J.(6-3) @ Buff.(6-3)
#3 – Mia.(7-3) @ L.A.C.(5-4)
#4 – T.B.(5-5) @ S.F.(5-4)
The tentative scheduled must be replaced. My #1 choice of Eagles/Giants is guaranteed to be protected FOX and likely CBS protected Jets/Bills, though I hope not. My #3 and #4 could also sneak in, but we’ll see. Something does need to replace the tentative scheduled garbage.
Week 15 – scheduled game is: N.E.(5-4) @ L.V.(2-7) <—will the Raiders be so bad and ruin the Belichick/McDaniels matchup? The answer is starting to look like a big YES!
Also, 3 of 5 games will move to Saturday and they are:
Mia.(7-3) @ Buff.(6-3) <—certain to move to Saturday
Balt.(6-3) @ Clev.(3-6) <—the Browns make this not likely to move to Saturday
Ind.(4-5-1) @ Minn.(8-1) <—likely to move to Saturday, as there's no other good 3rd choice
Atl.(4-6) @ N.O.(3-7) <—not likely, in spite of how tight the NFC South is
N.Y.G.(7-2) @ Wash.(5-5) <—because it's big market teams, it's looking okay at the moment, especially with the Commanders win tonight over the Eagles.
Last season the decision on the 3 Saturday Week 15 games had to be made after Week 11, but there's nothing in the schedule release about when this decision needs to be made this season. Let's assume it will be after Week 12 or Week 13 this season.
Week 16 – scheduled game is: T.B.(5-5) @ Ariz.(4-6) <— can't be flexed, as it's set in stone due to being on Christmas, but yuck! Though it did improve after both teams won this past weekend.
Week 17 – scheduled game is: L.A.R.(3-6) @ L.AC.(5-4) <— very likely to stay, unless the Rams really falter and they are doing that about now and the Chargers have so many injuries that they may follow suit and fall fast.
Week 18 – no scheduled SNF game and 2 games moving to Saturday
N.E.(5-4) @ Buff.(6-3) <—can't move to Saturday
N.Y.J.(6-3) @ Mia.(7-3) <—might be affected by Bills not being able to play on Saturday and could preclude them from doing so as well. If not precluded from moving to Saturday, it has a good chance or possibly SNF.
Balt.(6-3) @ Cin.(5-4) <—can't move to Saturday, but SNF could be a possibility, though not likely
Clev.(3-6) @ Pitt.(3-6) <—not looking like a move to Saturday would be in the cards anyway
Hou.(1-7-1) @ Ind.(4-5-1) <—not a good Saturday game candidate
Tenn.(6-3) @ Jack.(3-7) <—not a good Saturday game candidate
L.A.C.(5-4) @ Den.(3-6) <—not a good Saturday game candidate
K.C.(7-2) @ L.V.(2-7) <—not a good Saturday game candidate
N.Y.G.(7-2) @ Phil.(8-1) <—looking to be the frontrunner for Game 272 on SNF in Week 18
Dal.(6-3) @ Wash.(5-5) <—starting to gain on potentially moving to Saturday
Minn.(8-1) @ Chi.(3-7) <—not a good Saturday game candidate
Det.(3-6) @ G.B.(4-6) <—not a good Saturday game candidate
T.B.(5-5) @ Atl.(4-6) <—could be a dark horse for SNF, as it could become a win and in, lose and out game, but I doubt it or maybe I'm starting not to doubt it……..reminds me of Rams/Seahawks on SNF years ago as a clown show win and in and lose and out game
Car.(3-7) @ N.O.(3-7) <—not a good Saturday game candidate
Ariz.(4-6) @ S.F.(5-4) <—could be a candidate to move to Saturday, but so early still. Hell, this game is so weird and gets weirder each week
L.A.R.(3-6) @ Sea.(6-4) <—not looking good to move to Saturday
Remember, due to Buffalo and Cincinnati playing on MNF in Week 17, they will not be able to play on Saturday in Week 18 and that also leads to the potential of no matchup from the AFC East and AFC North moving to Saturday. But we'll see.
Go Pack Go this Thursday at Lambeau vs. the Titans!
As of now here’s what I see happens:
Week 12: Pack-Eagles stays (Bengals-Titans would be a prime candidate except the Titans due to two Thursday night games only can be flexed in twice more and both look possible).
Week 13: Eagles play a second straight Sunday as Titans-Eagles is flexed IN, replacing Colts-Cowboys that becomes CBS’s main 1:00 PM ET game.
Week 14: Dolphins-Chargers (currently 4:05 purgatory) is flexed in.
Week 15: Chargers get flexed in a second straight week as their game with the Titans is flexed IN.
Week 16: No flex (if the 12/24 games were 12/26 instead, whichever of Giants-Vikings or Eagles-Cowboys NOT protected by FOX would have replaced Chargers-Colts on ESPN/ABC as a rare Monday night flex.
Week 17: Jets-Seahawks could be flexed in.
Week 18: Who knows at this point.
My thoughts:
Week 12: GB @ PHI should stay. Where are all of you hearing these Bears vs Jets rumors? I doubt the 3-7 bears are enough to flex the Packers and Eagles out of SNF. The Packers just won, too, so that game should undoubtedly stay on SNF.
Week 13: God I really hope IND @ DAL is flexed out because no one wants to watch the dysfunctional colts on Sunday Night, and considering how stacked the week 13 lineup is, I’d really hope it’s flexed out.
1. TEN @ PHI pits two division leaders, AJ Brown revenge game, should be a really fun one.
2. NYJ @ MIN is a possibility if TEN @ PHI is protected because for some reason that was crossflexed to FOX and CBS has the Chiefs-Bengals late doubleheader (which they are definitely protecting, and Chiefs are ineligible for flexes anyways). So good chance that TENvPHI is protected and Burkhardt/Olsen are on the call.
3. MIA @ SF is also a really enticing game, with the way Tua has been playing, the dolphins definitely deserve a SNF flex. There is no way this game is protected because it’s at 4:05.
4. If it comes to it, WAS @ NYG is shaping up to be a good game, however, I think the other part of the series is going to move to Saturday so I doubt it will get flexed in.
Seriously though. 4 games that look better on paper than Colts-Cowboys and that doesn’t even include Chiefs-Bengals. Come on NBC! We know you love the cowboys but do us a favor and choose any of these!
Week 14: KC @ DEN – god if there is one team I would hate to see on SNF more than the colts, it’s definitely the broncos. NBC already gave the Chiefs an extra SNF game so this is surely going to be flexed out right? RIGHT?
1. PHI @ NYG – if Titans vs Eagles is not flexed in the week prior, this has to be the SNF game, please! FOX’s late game doubleheader is Bucs-9ers, however, which isn’t as strong as they would like. I could see FOX smartly protecting Eagles-Giants, knowing that Bucs-9ers probably isn’t strong enough to boot the Chiefs off SNF (and possibly moving that game to 4:25 and televise in most areas).
2. NYJ @ BUF – Jets already beat the bills, so this is a promising rematch. There is a decent chance CBS doesn’t protect this because they already have a strong 1pm feature game in Ravens-Steelers that Romo/Nantz would call. However, Bills likely will be playing the Dolphins the next Saturday primetime, and if this game is flexed, it would give the bills 7 primetime games on the year (I don’t know if there’s any sort of rule against that)
Dolphins-Chargers is also a good matchup for this week but the Chargers are maxed out.
Week 15:
Let’s start with Saturday games. MIA @ BUF has to be the 8:15 game, considering it could be for the division. NYG @ WAS is a lock to move to Saturday, probably the 4:30 game but I could see it being placed at 1:00. There is basically no chance ATL @ NO moves to Saturday. That leaves us with BAL @ CLE and IND @ MIN – which seem very close in strength. I would rather see BAL @ CLE, and Deshaun Watson will be back, but the 8-1 Vikings might carry the colts to this Saturday game. I believe they have to decide this 4 weeks in advance… could we see an announcement this Saturday?
SNF – NE @ LV. Damn. Not good. And their best replacement, Titans at Chargers, cannot be moved because the Chargers are maxed out.. CIN @ TB will be protected and Romo/Nantz will call. If somehow Eagles-Bears becomes more intriguing, I could see it being flexed in but there aren’t really any good replacements and the NFL will usually lean towards the tentative in a tiebreaker to avoid scheduling changes, so this one probably stays, even if the raiders are 3-9 or something.
Week 16 – I wish the Saturday game could be flexed! Raiders vs Steelers is a horrible Christmas Eve night game as of now, even considering the history behind that game. Giants vs Vikings would be an excellent replacement…
The Christmas schedule isn’t nearly as intriguing as it was at schedule release, with 5/6 teams underperforming their preseason expectations.
Week 17 – LAR @ LAC. Fun battle of LA but man do the rams look bad, and with the Chargers extra SNF game, I could see this being flexed out.
1. NYJ @ SEA – with this being 4:05 and unprotected, if the Jets and Seahawks stay hot by week 15, they should move this game. Both teams deserve to be recognized on SNF after highly exceeding preseason expectations.
2. MIA @ NE is also a solid option and much better than the tentative, especially if they find a way to flex out Pats-Raiders. It’s likely to be unprotected because CBS has Vikings-Packers, but this could also move to 4:25 since CBS only has one late game and if the NFC North is already locked up by the Vikings, this game won’t be as exciting.
Week 18 – impossible to predict but any of the AFC East/NFC East games have potential.
Even if Titans-Eagles in Week 13 was protected, I would think CBS would rather have the Cowboys and their draw as the main 1:00 PM game over that and would allow the NFL to flex Titans-Eagles to SNF.
Titans-Eagles is on FOX and must’ve been crossflexed. With CBS having the doubleheader, FOX prioritizes their early window so they very well might protect this one. This also probably will enable the eagles-giants game to be flexed the next week. Jets-Vikings and Dolphins-49ers are also great games so I wouldn’t mind it, nor would NBC imo. But FOX would also enjoy making Colts-Cowboys their 1pm game as well if that’s what you’re saying.
Hate to say it but Colts Cowboys is likely staying primetime. Nfl will likely flex Chiefs Broncos for Jets Bills most likely the following week….
OR FOX takes Colts-Cowboys for its main 1:00 PM ET game and allows Titans-Eagles to be flexed to SNF. The Colts winning this week does give this game a chance to stay on SNF.
Jets-Bills is a possibility for Week 14 because that game likely was NOT protected by CBS at the time that decision had to be made. Same with Eagles-Giants (UNLESS Titans-Eagles were flexed in Week 13 as the Eagles can only be flexed in ONCE).
Just looked at nflcommunications.com and no changes to the Week 12 schedule, which shocks none of us.
Well I’m not surprised that my eagles keep their primetime slot for week 12. Who are these people that wanted Jets-Bears flexed in??🤣🤣. Thats just so pathetic and lane. I’ll take some of whatever ya’ll were smoking. I need it anyway after reading Walt’s comments.