Tag: flex

Broncos vs. Falcons could be flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football’

The Broncos’ home game against the Falcons in Week 11 could be a strong candidate to get flexed to ‘Sunday Night Football.’

The Denver Broncos‘ home game against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 17 could be flexed to prime time.

Mario Vetanze, a certified posture exercise professional and massage therapist who lists Broncos players among his clients, has been leaking the team’s uniform combinations ahead of Denver’s games this season.

This week, Vetanze tweeted that he’s hearing “rumblings” that the Broncos will wear orange jerseys with orange pants against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11 because the game could be flexed to Sunday Night Football.

The Denver-Atlanta game is currently scheduled to air on Fox at 2:05 p.m. MT. A flex to SNF would make it a 6:20 p.m. MT game on NBC.

If the game is flexed to SNF, an announcement would arrive by mid-week because the NFL has to give teams at least 12 days of notice.

The current matchup scheduled for SNF that week is the New York Jets (3-6) hosting the Indianapolis Colts (4-4). One could argue that the Broncos-Falcons game is a more intriguing matchup, and it will mark safety Justin Simmons’ return to Denver.

Stay tuned. If the game is flexed, an announcement is not far away.

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Commanders vs. Bears flexed to late window in Week 8

Everyone wants to see the Commanders vs. Bears in Week 8, a far cry from where these teams have been in recent years.

With rookie quarterbacks under center, the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders are both 4-2 and meet in Week 8. As it turns out, everyone wants to see No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams (Bears) face off against No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels (No. 2).

CBS has flexed that week’s game from the 1 p.m. timeslot to 4:25, making it a game for the national audience. CBS’s top broadcast team, Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, and Tracy Wolfson, will be on the call. That trio was in Baltimore for Washington’s Week 6 game against the Ravens.

Williams is playing well after a slow start, having passed for four touchdowns in Chicago’s Week 6 win over the Jaguars. Daniels has been in the MVP conversation through six weeks, breaking numerous NFL and rookie records, coming away with Rookie of the Week honors in four of the first five weeks this season. Daniels was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Month for September.

The Commanders are in first place in the NFC East, while the Bears are firmly in the playoff mix in the ultra-competitive NFC North. Chicago is off this week, while Washington hosts Carolina.

NFL flexes Broncos vs. Lions in Week 15 to Saturday night

The Broncos’ game against the Lions in Week 15 has been flexed to Saturday night (Dec. 16) on NFL Network.

When the NFL announced the Denver Broncos’ 2023 schedule earlier this year, the team’s Week 15 showdown with the Detroit Lions had a to-be-announced date of either Dec. 16 (Saturday) or Dec. 17 (Sunday).

The NFL announced Thursday that the Broncos-Lions showdown has now been set for a 6:15 p.m. MT kickoff on Saturday, Dec. 16. The Denver-Detroit game will be part of NFL Network’s tripleheader that day.

First, the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Minnesota Vikings at 11:00 a.m. MT, then the Indianapolis Colts will host the Pittsburgh Steelers at 2:30 p.m. MT. To wrap things up at night, the Lions will host the Broncos. All three games will be nationally televised on NFL Network.

Denver is now scheduled to have back-to-back nationally televised primetime games on NFL Network from Weeks 15-16. After traveling to face the Lions, the Broncos will return home to host the New England Patriots in Week 16 at 6:15 p.m. MT on Sunday, Dec. 24.

With playoff implications on the line, Denver will be in the national spotlight as the 2023 regular season winds down in December.

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NFL flexes Broncos-Texans game to earlier window in Week 13

The Broncos’ game against the Texans in Week 13 will now likely be shown on more CBS networks after the NFL flexed it to an earlier window.

The Denver Broncos (5-5) facing off against the Houston Texans (6-4) in Week 13 (Dec. 3) is shaping up to be a game with big implications in the AFC playoff race, and the NFL has just flexed it.

Broncos-Texans won’t get prime-time treatment — the league has actually moved it up from the late afternoon window to the early afternoon window, but that change was presumably made with the goal of getting more eyeballs on the game.

Instead of kicking off at 2:05 p.m. MT, the Denver-Houston game will now kick off at 11:00 a.m. MT on CBS. That game now becomes the most intriguing matchup in CBS’ early window, and it will likely be broadcast in a majority of TV markets.

The Broncos have one more prime-time game remaining on their 2023 schedule with the possibility of two more. Denver’s Week 15 game against the Detroit Lions could be a Saturday night game, and the team’s Week 18 showdown with the Las Vegas Raiders could also be a Saturday game (the NFL is yet to finalize Week 15 and Week 18 schedules).

First things, though, the Broncos will host the Cleveland Browns in Week 12 followed by their trip to Houston in Week 13, now moved up a few hours.

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NFL won’t flex Broncos-Vikings out of ‘Sunday Night Football’

The NFL won’t flex the Broncos-Vikings game out of ‘Sunday Night Football’ in Week 11. Denver will play in prime time in consecutive weeks.

Prime time!

The NFL had until Tuesday night to make a flex decision on the Denver Broncos vs. Minnesota Vikings game set for Sunday Night Football in Week 11. The league was proactive, making a decision last night instead.

The NFL has informed the Broncos that the game will remain a SNF matchup, the team confirmed on Sunday evening. So the club will now play in prime time in consecutive weeks.

First, Denver will go on the road to face the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 10 (Nov. 13). After that, the Broncos will host the Vikings on Sunday Night Football in Week 11 (Nov. 19).

Denver is 3-5 but the team is coming off consecutive victories (including a 24-9 upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs) followed by a Week 9 bye. Meanwhile, the Vikings (5-4) are suddenly more intriguing after quarterback Josh Dobbs arrived via trade on Tuesday and then led them a 31-28 win on Sunday.

Bring on the big lights.

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NFL needs to make ‘SNF’ flex decision for Broncos vs. Vikings

The NFL needs to make a flex decision on the 3-5 Broncos and Kirk Cousins-less Vikings playing on ‘Sunday Night Football’ by Tuesday night.

Story update: The NFL has decided against flexing the Broncos-Vikings game in Week 11. The game will remain an SNF matchup. See our original post below. 

After playing the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 10, the Denver Broncos are currently scheduled to host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football in Week 11. Keyword: currently scheduled.

The Broncos are 3-5 coming out of their bye and the Vikings lost quarterback Kirk Cousins to a season-ending Achilles injury. So the Denver-Minnesota game isn’t exactly viewed as a must-watch game for a national TV audience.

The NFL will need to make a decision on potentially flexing the Broncos-Vikings game out of SNF soon. From the NFL’s flexing guidelines (emphasis added):

For Sunday Night Football in Weeks 5-13 and for Monday Night Football in Weeks 12-17, the NFL will decide (after consultation with CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN) and announce no later than 12 days in advance of the game, which game will be played on Sunday night and which game will be played on Monday night.

Denver and Minnesota are set to face off on Nov. 19, so the NFL has to make a decision on a potential flex by the evening of Nov. 7 (Tuesday). If there’s no flex, the Broncos will be set to play in prime time in consecutive weeks. Let’s ride.

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Cooper Kupp’s injury could have far-reaching implications for Saints

Cooper Kupp’s injury could have far-reaching implications for the Saints. If the Rams go in the tank, their Week 16 game could get flexed out of its Thursday night slot:

This is worth monitoring: the Los Angeles Rams may be without star wide receiver Cooper Kupp to start the 2023 season, which would be a massive blow for them during their continued Super Bowl hangover. And his absence could have long-reaching implications for the New Orleans Saints and their fans.

Right now, the Saints and Rams are scheduled to meet in Week 16 — on Dec. 21, a Thursday night. For the first time this season the NFL is testing a flex system for Thursday night games to get poor matchups out of prime time in favor of a better game. The Saints voted to approve the move earlier this year after getting a look at their schedule.

That flex protocol does have a few steps involved. For one thing, only two Thursday night games may be flexed in total, and only those between Weeks 13 and 17 are eligible. Additionally, the league office must give both teams 28 days’ notice before flexing the game. In this case, that deadline falls on Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving Day). If the game were flexed out of the Thursday night slot it would instead be played on Sunday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve).

So that’s something any Saints fans with tickets or plans attending the game should keep in mind. They’ll have a month to make travel arrangements, but that’s still asking them to navigate some of the busiest airports in America during the most chaotic travel window of the year during the holiday season. Maybe circle those dates on your calendar if you’re interested, just to be safe.

But why is Kupp so important? There aren’t many load-bearing players like him around the league. He averaged 11 targets per game last season despite dealing with an injury. The Rams are still paying the price for going all-in on their Super Bowl win a few years back, and Kupp is one of three players the average fan can name left on their roster along with Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald.

The Rams are hoping to be competent at best this season with a couple of playoff teams dominating the NFC West, and losing their best weapon on offense for any length of time could doom their ambitions. If that means we get to enjoy some schadenfreude at L.A.’s expense while seeing the Saints play on a normal travel week late in the season (as opposed to a shorter one, having been scheduled to host the New York Giants the previous Sunday), well; we’ll take it. Maybe keep an eye on Rams games early this season.

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Broncos owner Greg Penner voted in favor of ‘Thursday Night Football’ flexing

With backing from Broncos owner Greg Penner, NFL games in Weeks 13-17 are now eligible to be flexed into or out of Thursday Night Football.

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The NFL will experiment with a notable schedule change this season.

NFL owners voted in favor this week of a new rule that will add Thursday Night Football games to the flexible schedule. There are several stipulations — only games in Weeks 13-17 are eligible and the league will give teams a 28-day notice before making a change to the TNF schedule.

Additionally, the league won’t flex more than two TNF games per season. Each team is only eligible to be flexed into TNF once per season and no team will play more than two TNF games per year.

The new rule will have a trial run in 2023. If it goes well, owners could vote to make it permanent in 2024. The trial rule passed 24-8 at the owners’ meetings in Minnesota on Monday — the Giants, Jets, Packers, Bears, Raiders, Lions, Bengals and Steelers voted against the change.

Broncos co-owner/CEO Greg Penner was among the 24 owners who voted in favor of flexible TNF scheduling. Penner previously abstained from voting when league owners held a vote earlier this offseason. It’s unclear what happened to turn Penner from a non-vote to a yes vote.

Thursday Night Football games are available exclusively on Amazon’s  Prime Video. Denver lost to the Colts 12-9 on TNF last season.

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NFL approves Thursday night flex scheduling and what it means for Packers in 2023

The NFL approved flex scheduling for “TNF” in 2023. What does it mean for the Packers?

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The NFL voted on Monday to approve a modified flex scheduling program for “Thursday Night Football” starting in 2023. Under the new rules, the league can flex games in and out of the Thursday night time slot between Weeks 13-17 this season. Flexing games must be done 28 days before, no team can be flexed from Sunday to Thursday night more than once per season, and no team will play more than two Thursday night games per season. Also, the league can only flex two Thursday night games per year.

What does this mean for the Green Bay Packers?

For now, not much. The Packers host the Detroit Lions for “Thursday Night Football” in Week 4, well before the flex scheduling window. The team’s only other Thursday game is on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. The holiday matchup is not subject to flex scheduling.

However, the Packers could, in theory, get a second Thursday night game later in the season. During the flex window, the Packers play afternoon (noon kickoff) games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively. The current schedule has the Los Angeles Chargers visiting the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 15 and the New Orleans Saints visiting the Los Angeles Rams in Week 16. It’s possible the league could eventually see the Packers’ matchups against the two NFC South teams as better draws, especially if Green Bay is in the playoff hunt late in the season.

A few things to consider, however. The Packers play on the road against the New York Giants on “Monday Night Football” in Week 14, so the NFL wouldn’t consider moving Green Bay to Thursday night the very next week, taking away any possibility of Week 15’s matchup against the Buccaneers being flexed. The game to circle is Dec. 24 against the Panthers. Rams-Saints could be a shaky matchup, but Jordan Love vs. No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young could be an appealing option to flex to Thursday night.

Week 16’s Saints-Rams game could be flexed out of Thursday night slot

After initially voting against Thursday night game flexing, the Saints reversed course so that their late-season Rams game could be moved in Week 16:

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There was a lot of scrutiny on putting the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints in prime time late in the 2023 season when this year’s schedule first dropped, and it appears the NFL is already beginning to second-guess itself on that decision. A vote passed at league owners meetings this week to approve Thursday night game flexing for the upcoming season, but with some important stipulations.

Most importantly is the limited window in which games may be flexed out of the Thursday night slate: only matchups from Weeks 13 to 17 may be moved, and only two games may be flexed out of that time slot in total. That’s important information with the Saints and Rams scheduled to play at SoFi Stadium in Week 16.

Additionally, teams must be given 28 days’ notice before a Thursday night game may be flexed into a different time slot, so we’ll know by Thursday, Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving Day) whether the Saints and Rams will kick off midweek after all. The Saints will have played 10 games at that point with the Rams having 11 games to show league decision-makers how competitive they are, so if one or both teams are struggling this game could get flexed into a less-prominent window. If it is moved, it will still be played at SoFi Stadium but on Sunday, Dec. 24.

And here’s an added wrinkle: the Saints initially voted against this proposal, only to reverse course and flip their ballot when it came up again. Maybe they did that because the 28-day notice is more palatable than the initial 15-day proposal. More likely, they got a look at the schedule, saw a second Thursday night game lined up, and are hoping to get flexed out of it so that they don’t have to travel cross-country on a short week late in the season and disrupt their usual rhythm.

It’s a big blow to fans who want to, you know, attend games and get the full stadium experience. Traveling from New Orleans to Los Angeles isn’t cheap. Getting affordable NFL game tickets isn’t the easiest thing in the world, either. But as the league office continues to prioritize viewers at home and works to sell streaming subscriptions, fans who buy tickets and spend on concessions and travel to support their team are going to get left out in the cold.

Why is the NFL doing this? Amazon has made a big investment in its Thursday night series, streamed exclusively on its Prime Video service, and they want to ensure they’re putting out a product people want to tune in for. If  we get to that Nov. 23 deadline and the Saints are coming out of their bye  week at 5-5 while the Rams are improving to 4-6 (as is the case in our season predictions at Saints Wire and Rams Wire, respectively) then Amazon might implore the NFL to line up a more interesting matchup for them in Week 16. It’s something to keep an eye on in the fall, especially if you’re looking for tickets.

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