Report: Week 16 Game With New Orleans Now a Flex Option

League and television officials can wait until six days prior to the contest before they make the decision

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans might have played themselves back into primetime.

Katherine Terrell of The Athletic reported Tuesday that the Titans and New Orleans Saints have agreed to allow additional time for league and television officials to consider whether to “flex” their Week 16 matchup at Nissan Stadium to the Sunday night game. The decision now can be made as few as six days out, a window typically reserved only for Week 17.

As of now the contest is scheduled for noon (CST), Dec. 22 and will air on Fox.

The Titans (8-5) are tied for first place in the AFC South and have won six of their last seven. Their four-game win streak ranks as the second longest in the league at present behind Baltimore’s run of eight straight victories.

The Saints (10-3) have clinched first place in the NFC South and are one of three NFL teams that already have secured a playoff berth. New Orleans is tied with Green Bay and Seattle for the NFC’s second-best records.

Another inter-conference matchup, Kansas City (9-4) at Chicago (7-6), is currently set to be the Week 16 Sunday Night Football (NBC) game.

Tennessee’s only primetime broadcast thus far in 2019 was their Week 3 loss to Jacksonville, which was on Thursday night and aired on Fox and NFL Network.

The franchise’s last three appearances on Sunday Night Football, including a Week 17 contest that was flexed into that spot last season (the Titans lost 33-17 in a game that determined the final playoff participant), have been against the Indianapolis Colts. The others were in 2007 and 2009.

The last time the Titans played a team other than the Colts in the NFL’s featured weekly telecast was 2003 against Oakland. The last time they faced an NFC opponent on Sunday night was 1998 against Tampa Bay.

Tennessee is 11-10 all-time on Sunday Night Football.

This Sunday the Titans host the Houston Texans (8-5) in a battle for sole possession for first place in the division (the same teams will meet again in Houston in Week 17). New Orleans plays on Monday Night Football against Indianapolis.