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The NFL and its broadcast partners made preparations to flex its Week 16 game between the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans into a more prominent time slot, but ultimately chose to stick with the schedule as it was already written. The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan first reported that the Saints-Titans kickoff will remain at noon, so visiting Saints fans won’t have to adjust any traveling plans on the fly. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
So instead of a game between an NFC Super Bowl contender that’s seeking a higher playoff seed and a desperate AFC South squad playing for their season, fans tuning into “Sunday Night Football” will catch a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears. The Chiefs are also jostling for playoff positioning, while the Bears have been mathematically eliminated. The duel between reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes and Bears passer Mitchell Trubisky will be overseen by Chiefs coach Andy Reid and his former assistant and Bears counterpart, Matt Nagy.
At least the late-afternoon games will be interested. The FOX double-header has not yet been decided, but it’s an easy choice: the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles are set to square off with the NFC East title on the line, which would clinch a playoff berth. The loser would be eliminated from the playoffs altogether. Given each city’s market appeal, it would be shocking if that’s not the game most of America gets.
So where does that leave Saints fans? Flights to Nashville, Tenn. are hardly expensive out of New Orleans, so expect a hefty fan presence at Nissan Stadium on Sunday. But many members of the Who Dat Nation will probably be content to catch this one from home and avoid the heavy holiday traffic altogether.
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