Chances Are High We’ll See the NFL Use Flex Scheduling in These Two Upcoming Weeks
We’re going to break format since it’s the day before Thanksgiving. Since many of you will be traveling over the next four days, I want to plug some of the best episodes of the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast from 2023 and give you a chance to catch up on any shows you may have missed.
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The most recent SI Media podcast, which came out Tuesday, featured some noteworthy nuggets for NFL fans.
My guest was the league’s VP of Broadcast Planning, Mike North. North, along with a few others, handles all things related to the NFL schedule, including the flex situation for Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football.
While the NFL hasn’t flexed any games yet in the 2023 season, North hinted that there’s a good chance we may see flex happen in two upcoming weeks.
In Week 14, the Packers visit the Giants for an MNF matchup. With the Giants out of the playoff picture and Green Bay sitting at 4–6 with games against the Lions and Chiefs the next two weeks, there’s a good chance it will be 4–8.
North pointed out that the Texans visit the Jets in Week 14 in a 1 p.m. ET Sunday game. Given that Houston is in the playoff hunt and quarterback C.J. Stroud has become one of the league’s most exciting players, it wouldn’t hurt to get the Texans and Stroud in front of a national audience.
So a Packers-Giants for Texans-Jets swap is a strong possibility.
Week 15 may also be a week for a Monday Night Football flex because the NFL has a Patriots problem. New England is 2–8 and one of the most boring teams to watch.
Unfortunately for the league and fans, the Patriots are scheduled to play in prime time three weeks in a row: Week 14 on TNF at Pittsburgh, Week 15 on Monday night against K.C. and Week 16 on Sunday night at Denver.
As North explained, the NFL hates to lose a Chiefs prime-time game, but they may do so because of the Week 15 late window Sunday.
The Cowboys visit the Bills at 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox in a game that will go to most of the country. Fox also has Eagles-Seahawks that day at 4:25 p.m. ET.
With that game going to a small percentage of the country, the NFL could move Philly-Seattle to Monday night and spare America from watching the Patriots in prime time for one of the three weeks in a row they are scheduled to appear.
As North explained on the podcast, the flex isn’t supposed to be used to get the best matchup in a prime-time window. The flex is an option to remove a game that may not have playoff implications.
“The one thing I think people fail to realize or remember is that the object of flexible scheduling for Sunday Night Football and now for Monday night and for Thursday night is never about getting the best game into prime time,” North said. “It’s about getting out of a game that has fallen short of expectations.”
North also pointed out that all flex decisions are the NFL’s. NBC, ESPN and Amazon can request and make a case for a flex, but the NFL has full control when it comes to flexing.
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And you can catch up on some of the best episodes of SI Media With Jimmy Traina below.
• Bill Simmons
• Charles Barkley
• Pat McAfee
• Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
• Dan Patrick
• Ian Eagle
• Jason McCourty
• Julian Edelman
• Richard Jefferson
• Scott Hanson
For the wrestling fans out there, we had some great episodes for you, too, in 2023.
• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
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• Seth Rollins
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
