The NFL is flexing its flex muscle.
A day after moving the Buffalo Bills into the 4 p.m. window on CBS for Week 16, the NFL is making some more changes.
On Tuesday, the NFL announced that following the Falcons’ win on Monday Night Football in Week 15, it would move Atlanta into a Sunday Night Football matchup with the Washington Commanders.
New week 17 scheduling times: pic.twitter.com/i0s0YdY1eA
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 17, 2024
Kirk Cousins has returned to the nation’s capital before, but this will be his first time as a member of the Falcons. And that Week 17 NFC South-NFC East showdown being placed on primetime NBC with Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth on the mic means that Miami Dolphins-Cleveland Browns will be flexed out and flexed into CBS’ 4 p.m. afternoon slate.
In turn, the Indianapolis Colts-New York Giants game will naturally be played at 1 p.m. ET on Fox.
Additionally, the NFL announced its Saturday triple header on NFL Network for Week 17, which will feature the Los Angeles Chargers-New England Patriots at 1 p.m. ET, the Denver Broncos-Cincinnati Bengals at 4:30 p.m. ET, and the Arizona Cardinals-Los Angeles Rams at 8 p.m. ET.
The tripleheader had not been revealed until Tuesday, so there was a school of thought that perhaps the Cardinals and Rams could play on SNF, but obviously, that won’t bear fruit.
There was also some buzz about the Green Bay Packers-Minnesota Vikings game being left out of the flex conversation, but networks can protect one matchup each week. This seemed like an easy call because Fox’s Game of the Week features the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
There also exists the possibility that the game could be flexed into the afternoon window, too.
This does NOT preclude the NFL deciding to change the kickoff time of next week’s Packers-Vikings game. NFL has up until next Tuesday to decide. Could change from noon to 3:25. TBD. https://t.co/aElTkEFb8E
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) December 17, 2024
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.