You’d need a couple Ph. D’s to understand the full mechanics of the NFL’s complicated, yet highly useful, flexible scheduling system.  There’s much more to it than NBC and the NFL picking which game they get to put on Sunday Night Football.

Namely, Fox and CBS are able to protect certain games throughout the season.  After all, those networks are also paying oodles of millions and billions to the NFL and they don’t deserve to be shackled with Jags-Titans and Redskins-Bucs in late November.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter sent this very interesting tweet detailing which games have been selected to protect for their airwaves…

There are a couple curious choices – namely New Orleans at Pittsburgh – two teams that could be well out of playoff contention by Week 13.  And in spite of recent struggles, Fox still has faith in the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks.  But otherwise, CBS and Fox are hoping to lean on the likes of Manning, Brady, and Rodgers to bring beaucoup viewers on Sunday afternoons.

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