The NFL has revealed their choices for the Week 17 flex games and to the surprise of nobody, the de facto NFC East title game between the Cowboys and Redskins has been chosen for the final game of the regular season Sunday Night. Since the new flex scheduling, Sunday Night Football has always received the matchup with the most clear playoff implications on the line. That included a 2010 matchup between the Rams and Seahawks when both teams were under .500, but the winner took the NFC West. This year, that division title game just also happens to go to the most oversaturated division in the NFL – the NFC East, where seemingly every team gets about 10 nationally televised games every year. (That's your cue, east coast bias aficionados.)
But that's not all as far as flexing goes. In Week 17, both Fox and CBS have a national doubleheader window at 4:25 PM ET (what the NFL is dubbing a "double doubleheader" week). CBS will likely air Miami at New England to most of the country while Fox's 4:25 PM game will be Green Bay at Minnesota. Depending on what happens between the Bears and Lions earlier in the day, Minnesota could be facing a "win or go home" situation while the Packers can clinch a first round bye with a win. Adrian Peterson also has an outside shot at breaking Eric Dickerson's NFL rushing record while 2,000 yards is certainly in sight.
I'm a bit surprised Houston-Indianapolis didn't get the CBS flex spot as Houston controls their own destiny for homefield advantage and Chuck Pagano returns to the sidelines. Alas, you'll likely be seeing Tom Brady instead, as usual.
Here's the entire Week 17 schedule…
TAMPA BAY AT ATLANTA |
1:00 PM (ET) |
FOX |
N.Y. JETS AT BUFFALO |
1:00 PM (ET) |
CBS |
BALTIMORE AT CINCINNATI |
1:00 PM (ET) |
CBS |
CHICAGO AT DETROIT |
1:00 PM (ET) |
FOX |
HOUSTON AT INDIANAPOLIS |
1:00 PM (ET) |
CBS |
CAROLINA AT NEW ORLEANS |
12:00 PM (CT) |
FOX |
PHILADELPHIA AT N.Y. GIANTS |
1:00 PM (ET) |
FOX |
CLEVELAND AT PITTSBURGH |
1:00 PM (ET) |
CBS |
JACKSONVILLE AT TENNESSEE |
12:00 PM (CT) |
CBS |
KANSAS CITY AT DENVER |
2:25 PM (MT) |
CBS |
GREEN BAY AT MINNESOTA* |
3:25 PM (CT) |
FOX |
MIAMI AT NEW ENGLAND* |
4:25 PM (ET) |
CBS |
OAKLAND AT SAN DIEGO |
1:25 PM (PT) |
CBS |
ARIZONA AT SAN FRANCISCO |
1:25 PM (PT) |
FOX |
ST. LOUIS AT SEATTLE |
1:25 PM (PT) |
FOX |
DALLAS AT WASHINGTON* |
8:20 PM (ET) |
NBC |