Tag: Sunday Night Football

Know who to root for: Saints fan interests in every Week 12 game

The New Orleans Saints will host the Carolina Panthers in Week 12 of the NFL regular season, but fans have rooting interests in every game.

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New Orleans Saints fans are getting ready to see their team kick off against the Carolina Panthers, but the NFL’s schedule features plenty of other games to watch afterwards. With the NFC playoff picture starting to take shape, now is as good a time as any to get up to get up to speed with the standings and know who to root for in every game this weekend. Here’s your Saints fan rooting guide. All odds are sourced from BetMGM.

Around the NFC South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-7) at Atlanta Falcons (3-7). Falcons by 4.5. The Saints have swept the Buccaneers already, and the Falcons are their next opponent after the Panthers — on Thanksgiving night, no less. Root for the Buccaneers to give Atlanta all they can handle.

Painting the NFC Playoff Picture

Green Bay Packers (8-2) at San Francisco 49ers (9-1). 49ers by 3.5. This one is complicated. A Packers victory puts Green Bay in the top NFC playoff seed by way of tiebreaker, which means the Saints would have to hop the Packers lose a game later in the season. If the 49ers win, the Saints can control their own destiny by beating San Francisco later (if they win out until then, anyway). Root for the 49ers on Sunday Night Football.

Seattle Seahawks (8-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-5). Eagles by 1.5. Russell Wilson is an MVP favorite, and there are few quarterbacks more dangerous thanks to his accuracy and ability to keep plays alive with his legs. The Saints were fortunate to escape Seattle with a win earlier this season, and avoiding another matchup with him is in their interests. The Eagles haven’t been much of a threat to New Orleans lately, so root for Philadelphia.

Dallas Cowboys (6-4) at New England Patriots (9-1). Patriots by 6.5. The Cowboys are the least-terrible team in what may be the NFL’s weakest division. The Saints have beaten them once already, but who’s to say they’ll do it again after last year’s disaster and this year’s too-close-for-comfort finale? Root for the Patriots to keep the Cowboys weak.

Baltimore Ravens (8-2) at Los Angeles Rams (6-4). Ravens by 3.5. A loss on Monday Night Football would be a dagger into the heart of the Rams’ season, likely putting L.A. too far back in their division to reach the playoffs, so root for Lamar Jackson and former Saints running back Mark Ingram to do just that.

New York Giants (2-8) at Chicago Bears (4-6). Bears by 6.5. This is a winnable game for Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, which says a lot about the state of the Giants. Chicago has proven to be no threat to New Orleans so long as Trubisky is under center, so root for the Bears to win and build enough optimism to keep him around for at least another year.

Leftovers and Lagniappe

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) at Tennessee Titans (5-5). Titans by 3.5. The Saints will play the Titans in a few weeks; Tennessee has rallied around Ryan Tannehill, but a loss here could push them closer to playing for draft positioning by the time that game comes around. Root for the Jaguars.

Miami Dolphins (2-8) at Cleveland Browns (4-6). Browns by 10.5. The Dolphins have a handful of former Saints players in prominent roles, including Vince Biegel and Ken Crawley. Root for Miami.

Detroit Lions (3-6-1) at Washington Redskins (1-9). Lions by 3.5. Root for Washington to win and improve their draft position, keeping a top prospect like Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young from joining them and playing against the Saints some day.

Denver Broncos (3-7) at Buffalo Bills (7-3). Bills by 3.5. The Broncos finding a way to win here would be entertaining, do root for that.

Oakland Raiders (6-4) at New York Jets (3-7). Raiders by 2.5. Raiders fans finally have a team worth cheering for, so root for their momentum to continue rolling.

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-10). Steelers by 6.5. This game is more winnable for the Bengals than JT appears, given the Steelers’ injuries and suspensions. Root for the Bengals to get their first win.

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5 takeaways from the Rams’ 17-7 victory against Chicago

The Los Angeles Rams snuck away with a crucial victory against the Bears on Sunday Night Football. Steve Rebeiro gives his takeaways.

(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Rams snuck away with a 17-7 victory against the Bears in prime time on Sunday night.

It wasn’t pretty, but neither was last year’s Sunday Night Football showdown between these two teams. The Rams lost that one 15-6, but they escaped with a victory tonight.

Here are five takeaways from a win Los Angeles desperately needed against the Bears.

Rookies lead impressive offensive line performance

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The Rams’ offensive line has been an absolute dumpster fire this year. They went from one of the NFL’s best units last season to arguably the worst in the NFL this year. Last week, they lost two starters, including longtime starting tackle Rob Havenstein to injury. Fans were praying for Jared Goff’s health with a bunch of unproven backups protecting him against Khalil Mack and Chicago’s tough defense.

Oddly enough, the Rams offensive line turned in one of its best performances of the year with its back against the wall.

The big difference was switching from Havenstein, who has started 68 games for the Rams over the past five years, to rookie Bobby Evans, who played three snaps in his career. Evans and fellow rookie David Edwards gave both Todd Gurley and Goff all the protection they could ask for against the Bears. It resulted in a major victory for the Rams in prime time.

Sean McVay will have a decision to make when Havenstein comes back from injury. He’s been a weak link on the line this season, and Evans looked better tonight than Havenstein has all season. Evans should hold the job until he gives them a reason to bench him.

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Seahawks vs. Eagles in Week 12 flexed from Sunday night to early slot

The Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles will no longer meet Sunday night in Week 12, with the game slated to start at 10:00 a.m. PT.

The Seattle Seahawks’ matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12 has been flexed out of prime time.

The NFL announced the schedule change on Tuesday, which will now feature the 49ers and Packers in the 5:20 p.m. PT time slot, pushing the Seahawks and Eagles up to a 10 a.m. PT kickoff — Seattle’s fourth early game of the season.

The Seahawks were initially slated for four straight prime-time games. Seattle is now entering its bye week.

 

Seattle is 5-0 on the road for the first time in franchise history and 3-0 in 10 a.m. start times this year, so perhaps this news isn’t as daunting as it seems.

The Eagles were the Super Bowl champs two years ago but went just 9-7 last season and are only 5-4 in 2019, perhaps a factor in moving the game.

Additionally, the 49ers and Packers are two of the strongest teams in the NFC, and their matchup should be a good battle for supremacy in the conference.

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NFL announces several scheduling shuffles, none involve Cowboys, yet

The NFL announced changes to the 2019 regular season schedule on Tuesday. For the time being, none of them involve the Dallas Cowboys’ final slate of seven games. Nothing will change for the Week 11 schedule, but Week 12 is going to flip a couple of …

The NFL announced changes to the 2019 regular season schedule on Tuesday. For the time being, none of them involve the Dallas Cowboys’ final slate of seven games. Nothing will change for the Week 11 schedule, but Week 12 is going to flip a couple of important, NFC matchups between the various time slots.

Those contests of course, are being moved around the ratings bonanza that will fall upon CBS when the Cowboys travel up north to take on the current AFC leaders in the New England Patriots. The league is swapping Green Bay against San Francisco along with Seattle against Philadelphia.

The Cowboys game will occupy the national, late afternoon start and kickoff at 3:25 p.m. central, as planned. The Fox network had the Packers and 49ers squaring off in a local coverage game, but Kyle Shanahan has his club at 8-1, and they warrant more national exposure. Aaron Rodgers vs Jimmy Garoppolo is now the Sunday night contest on .

To round out the moves, Russell Wilson’s Seahawks will now kick off at what would be 10 am in their local time zone, as they and Doug Pederson’s Eagles will now host Seattle at noon central.

In addition to these changes, the league has announced their Week 16 slate of Saturday games the weekend before the holidays.

The Houston Texans will visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on 12/21 at noon central. That will be followed by the Buffalo Bills visiting the New England Patriots at 3:30 p.m., then the Los Angeles Rams will take on the 49ers at 7:15 p.m.

All of the Saturday games will be broadcast on the NFL Network.

There can certainly be more changes in the coming weeks, as the league continues to try and get the best contest to the most eyeballs.  On could even involve the Cowboys and Eagles’ Week 16 contest potentially getting the Sunday night treatment.

NFL Official Rules On Schedule Changes

Flexible Scheduling

Allows teams to play their way onto the Sunday night schedule

In 2006 the NFL implemented a primetime “flexible scheduling” element on Sundays in Weeks 10-15 and in Week 17. In 2014 that was extended so that games between Weeks 5 and 17 could be affected by flex scheduling. However, only two games may be flexed into Sunday Night between Week 5 and 10.

Flexible scheduling ensured quality matchups on Sunday night in those weeks and gave surprise teams a chance to play their way onto primetime. The NBC Sunday night time slot for “flex” weeks lists the game tentatively scheduled for Sunday night.

Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game will be moved to an afternoon start time. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday, Saturday or Monday nights.

Just as the six major college football conferences have done for many years, the NFL has the flexibility to move the start times of games on Sundays, using a 12-day notice format.

For example, a game scheduled for a Sunday could move from a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff to an 8:15 p.m. start, but the change would be made and announced no later than the prior Tuesday, 12 days prior. Sunday afternoon games, as in the past, can still be moved between 1:00 and 4:05 or 4:25 p.m. ET.

In Week 17, in order to ensure a Sunday night game with playoff implications, the decision to move the start time may be made on six days notice.

NFL Flexible Scheduling 101

  • Begins Sunday of Week 5
  • In effect during Weeks 5-17
  • Up to 2 games may be flexed into Sunday Night between Weeks 5-10
  • Only Sunday afternoon games are subject to being moved into the Sunday night window.
  • The game that has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday night during flex weeks will be listed at 8:15 p.m. ET.
  • The majority of games on Sundays will be listed at 1:00 p.m. ET during flex weeks except for games played in Pacific or Mountain Time zones which will be listed at 4:05 or 4:15 p.m. ET.
  • No impact on Thursday, Saturday or Monday night games.
  • The NFL will decide (after consultation with CBS, FOX, NBC) and announce as early as possible the game being played at 8:15 p.m. ET. The announcement will come no later than 12 days prior to the game. The NFL may also announce games moving to 4:05 p.m. ET and 4:25 p.m. ET.
  • Week 17 start time changes could be decided on 6 days notice to ensure a game with playoff implications.
  • The NBC Sunday night time slot in “flex” weeks will list the game that has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday night.
  • Fans and ticket holders must be aware that NFL games in flex weeks are subject to change 12 days in advance (6 days in Week 17) and should plan accordingly.
  • NFL schedules all games.
  • Teams will be informed as soon as they are no longer under consideration or eligible for a move to Sunday night.

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NFL flexes Packers-Niners to Sunday Night Football on Week 12

The Green Bay Packers-San Francisco 49ers game on Nov. 24 has been flexed to SNF.

NBC is going to be the beneficiary of an audible by the NFL on Week 12.

Instead of a battle of the Birds, between the Seahawks and Eagles, on Sunday night Nov. 24, the NFL has moved the Packers-Niners game to that evening.

The Seahawks-Eagles game wasn’t shabby but Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay against Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners must have seemed a bigger lure when it comes to TV ratings.

Have to wonder if the league is reacting to the ratings from MNF’s spectacular Seattle-San Francisco game.

And one more note involving the suddenly fashionable Niners.

POLL: Who wins Week 11 contest between Bears and Rams?

The Bears and Rams will meet in a rematch of last year’s defensive battle on Sunday Night Football. Will the Bears emerge victorious again?

The Chicago Bears (4-5) will hit the road to take on the Los Angeles Rams (5-4) on the primetime stage.

The Bears are coming off a 20-13 win over the Detroit Lions, which snapped a four-game losing streak. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky had his best game of the season against Detroit, and he and the Bears offense will be looking to build on that success.

The Rams are coming off a 17-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, where Los Angeles’ offense struggled mightily and their defense wasn’t able to come up with a critical stop on fourth-and-1. But the Rams defense certainly impressed, and they’ll be looking to do the same against Chicago.

Chicago and Los Angeles met last year on Sunday Night Football in what was a defensive battle. The Bears emerged victorious with a 15-6 victory over the Rams, after making quarterback Jared Goff’s night a long one.

Will the Bears repeat their defensive dominance against the Rams on Sunday? Will Chicago extend their winning streak to two games? Or will the Bears fall victim to the issues that affected them during their four-game losing streak?

Who wins on Sunday?

VOTE!

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