How Dolphins Could Be Impacted by Thursday Night Flexing
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The Miami Dolphins, perhaps thankfully, were not scheduled to play a Thursday night game this season, but that possibility now exists after a vote by NFL owners.
At the league's spring meetings in Minneapolis, the NFL owners approved by a reported 24-8 margin the addition of flex scheduling for the 2023 season.
The Thursday night flex scheduling will be in place from Weeks 13 and 17 and only be done with 28 days' notice to the teams involved.
Among other rules in place with the Thursday night flex scheduling is that no team will be flexed into that spot more than once and that the switch can only be done twice.
THE DOLPHINS SCHEDULE IN WEEKS 13-17
Of the five weeks where the Thursday night flex scheduling could be in effect, the Dolphins have four games that could be moved.
The one that cannot be moved is their Week 14 game against the Tennessee Titans, which is scheduled for Monday night, Dec. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Any of the other four, though, could wind up getting flexed, and the last three in particular are good matchups — at least as it looks now.
In Week 15, the Dolphins face the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium; in Week 16, they're at home against the Dallas Cowboys in a game currently scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET; and in Week 17, they'll be playing at Baltimore in a rematch of last year's incredible 42-38 Dolphins victory when Tua Tagovailoa tied a franchise record with six touchdown passes and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle each reached 170 receiving yards.
In Week 13, another game that could be flexed to Thursday night, the Dolphins play at Washington.
THE CURRENTLY SCHEDULED THURSDAY NIGHT GAMES THAT COULD BE FLEXED OUT
With a reminder that there will be no more than two games flexed to Thursday night, here's the currently schedule for TNF from Weeks 13-17:
Week 13 — Seattle at Dallas
Week 14 — New England at Pittsburgh
Week 15 — L.A. Chargers at Las Vegas
Week 16 — New Orleans at L.A. Rams
Week 17 — N.Y. Jets at Cleveland
While improvement is expected from teams like the Jets, Cleveland and New Orleans, it should be noted that only three (Seattle, Dallas, L.A. Chargers) of the 10 teams involved in these games made the playoffs last season.
On another note, the five games currently scheduled as TBD for Week 15, which will feature three Saturday contests are eligible for the Thursday night spot that week.
The Dolphins, who do play a Friday afternoon game — the first-ever Black Friday game — probably have no interest in TNF for a while after what happened last season at Cincinnati in Week 4.
