Tag: Week 16

NFL’s Week 16 Saints-Titans game will not be flexed from original time slot

The NFL will not flex Week 16’s Saints-Titans game, keeping Patrick Mahomes, the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles in the spotlight

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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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Cowboys open Week 16 road favorites over Eagles in NFCE championship

The Cowboys are going on the road with a chance to bring the division title back home with them.

The Dallas Cowboys have been having one of the biggest roller coaster seasons in recent memory. They won three in a row, then lost three in a row. Win some, lose some but on Sunday they won again, and won big to even their record at 7-7 on the season after thrashing the playoff-hopeful Los Angeles Rams, 44-21.

The game wasn’t even that close, but the victory pulled them back into a tie for first place in the NFC East with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles once again needed a final-drive touchdown to defeat a woeful NFC East rival, this time the Washington Redskins. Their two-game win streak puts them in control of their own destiny as well.

If the Eagles win out, they are NFC East champs and the four seed in the conference playoffs. Dallas however doesn’t even need to win out, as they have a magic number of two thanks to an early-season blowout over the Eagles. They can clinch with a win Sunday or could also get in with some Week 17 magic as well.

Dallas now has a 67.8% chance of winning the division, according to FPI.

According to the opening betting lines from Bet MGM, they stand a good chance to put a bow on things Sunday afternoon.

The opening line has the Cowboys as -2.5 road favorites to defend their division crown.

The Cowboys are currently 4-0 against the NFC East on the season, and none of the four contests have been particularly close.

In Week 1, Dallas romped the Giants 35-17 and they followed that up with a 31-21 win over Washington in Week 2. Both of those games featured late, meaningless scores by the loser, making things closer than they appeared.

Dallas went on to run roughshod over the Eagles, 37-10, in Week 7, then came out the bye week and lambasted the Giants again in Week 9, this time 37-18.

Four NFC East games,  total score 140-66.

Jason Garrett might struggle against quality opponents, but he owns the ones he knows the most.

Garrett has a 11-8 lifetime record against the Eagles, including four in a row, and a 37-19 record against the NFC East since taking over as interim coach in 2010 before assuming full head coaching powers in 2011.

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NFL delaying decision to flex Saints-Titans, per report

The NFL schedule can flex games into better time slots, and the New Orleans Saints’ game with the Tennessee Titans is under consideration.

The NFL’s schedule is largely written in stone, but the ability to flex certain games into more prominent time slots is one of its more intuitive features. Per a report from The Atheltic’s Katherine Terrell, the NFL’s Week 16 kickoff between the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans is under consideration for a move into the limelight. But a decision won’t be made just yet.

Per NFL rules, the corporations under contract to broadcast games are allowed a 12-day window with which to decide whether a game will get flexed into a different time slot — except in Week 17, when that decision is made in just 6 days. However, in this case all parties involved (the NFL and the relevant broadcast partners) agreed to reach a decision in 6 days rather than the full 12-day allotment. That’s obviously not great for fans who have to adjust their travel plans on such short notice, but that’s showbiz.

So why are they taking this approach? It probably hinges on whether the Titans can maintain their spot in the crowded AFC playoff race with a win over the AFC South-rival Houston Texans this week. If Tennessee keeps up their four-game winning streak and knocks off the Texans, they would be in position to win their division with another victory over the Saints the following week.

With a loss, the Titans would be on the outside looking in, and be ranked beneath the Pittsburgh Steelers for a Wild Card spot. Tennessee would essentially be playing for their season when the Saints visit a week later, which would make for terrific drama from the broadcaster’s perspective. But at this stage, it’s tough to say which direction things go. Which is probably how the NFL wants it — increased curiosity means more fans tuning into Sunday’s Titans-Texans game.

Many fans were surprised when the NFL chose not to flex last Sunday’s game between the Saints and San Francisco 49ers, but The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan reports that it wasn’t an option. FOX controlled that kickoff’s broadcast rights, and protected the game from being flexed out of the noon time slot they had chosen.

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NFL announces date, time and TV channel for Broncos’ game vs. Lions

The NFL has announced the date, time and television channel for the Broncos’ Week 16 game against the Lions.

When the NFL announced the Denver Broncos‘ 2019 schedule in April, the date, time and television channel for the team’s Week 16 showdown with the Detroit Lions was listed as “to be determined.”

Four other games that week — Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Houston Texans, New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders — were also listed as TBD.

The NFL wanted to wait and see how those teams started the season before deciding which games would be nationally televised on NFL Network on Saturday and which games would air on CBS on Sunday.

The league announced finalized dates, times and channels Tuesday.

After Denver started 3-6 and Detriot started 3-5-1, their showdown has been scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 22 at 2:05 p.m. MT on CBS. So unless the Broncos are flexed into “Sunday Night Football” between Weeks 13-15 or in Week 17, all of the team’s seven remaining games will air on CBS.

Houston (6-3) at Tampa Bay (3-6) will air on NFL Network on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11:00 a.m. MT. Buffalo (6-3) at New England (8-1) will also air on NFLN on Dec. 21 at 2:30 p.m. MT and the Rams (5-4) at San Francisco (8-1) will air on NFLN that same day at 6:15 p.m. MT.

Oakland (5-4) against the Chargers (4-6) will air on CBS on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 2:05 p.m. MT, the same time as the Denver-Detriot contest.

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NFL announces Lions at Broncos will be on Sunday December 22nd

When the Detroit Lions 2019 regular season schedule was announced there was once curious date omitted: their Week 16 matchup with the Denver Broncos was scheduled as to be determined. Today, we know that matchup will take place on Sunday, December 22nd, 2019.

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When the Detroit Lions 2019 regular season schedule was announced there was once curious date omitted: their Week 16 matchup with the Denver Broncos was scheduled as to be determined.

Today, we know that matchup will take place on Sunday, December 22nd, 2019 at 4:05 PM, EST on CBS.

With the Lions record sitting at 3-5-1 and the Broncos at 3-6, it’s no surprise that the NFL elected to keep the game on the regular Sunday schedule rather than flex it to the national stage on Saturday.

Further adding to the list of reasons this game is not being flexed, is the starting quarterback situation of both teams — as a Jeff Driskel vs Brandon Allen (maybe Drew Lock) matchup isn’t made for primetime.

The Broncos have placed their starter Joe Flacco on injured reserve, while second-round pick (42nd overall) Lock is ready to start practicing again and may return from injured reserve in the next few weeks. Currently, the Broncos are starting Allen (undrafted free agent in 2016 out of Arkansas) at quarterback.

Meanwhile, the Lions are in the middle of deciding what to do with Matthew Stafford after it was discovered that he has a fractured bone in his back. Stafford’s injury isn’t expected to be longterm, just painful, but with his history of back injuries and the team all but eliminated from the NFL Playoffs, it’s fair to speculate if they will shut him down for the season.