At last, the NFL agreed to play “Monday Night Football” games on a flexible schedule. It simply hadn’t turned that feature on.
The NFL created a small bit of history on Thursday. The league declared that the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 15 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks would be moved to Monday night. That starts at the New England Patriots game in place of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The NFL also revealed the schedule for that week’s three Saturday games. The Minnesota Vikings vs. Cincinnati Bengals game will kick off the evening at 1 p.m. ET. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts will follow at 4:30 p.m. ET, and the Denver Broncos vs. Detroit Lions game will conclude at 8 p.m. ET. NFL Network will broadcast all three games. The NFL had left those spots unfilled in order to schedule three games with postseason significance. Each of the six teams participating in those Saturday games is either guaranteed to make the playoffs or is currently fighting for a playoff spot.
Flexing games that aren’t slated for Sunday has been opposed by the NFL because it may cause fans’ plans to change, particularly for those who are traveling. Saturday’s Week 15 games are scheduled for December 16 and Monday night’s game is scheduled for December 18. Fans won’t have much time to change their plans because of that.
In the end, the league’s TV partners and the larger television audience’s needs prevailed. The Patriots are having their worst season in over 20 years, which made the Chiefs-Patriots game a terrible one. It was not going to be a match to be competitive. The Philadelphia Eagles, who own the best record in the NFL, take on the Seattle Seahawks, who are playing for a wild-card spot. Fans watching at home and ESPN will find it far more compelling.
The NFL finds it challenging to book exciting prime-time matches months in advance. For example, the Monday night matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars this week appeared to be among the better ones of the season when the schedule was first announced in May. After Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow sustained an injury, the game lost its appeal.
One way to steer clear of bad matchups is to have the option to flex Monday night games. We’ll see more of it in the future now that the NFL has given it a try.
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