The NFL Network utilized flex scheduling to take three Week 17 games from Sunday and create a tripleheader full of playoff implications. Today, the league announced that the Week 17 matchups between the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals, and Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams, will be played on Dec. 28 in a tripleheader.
The Chargers and Patriots will take the 1 PM EST slot, the Broncos and Bengals will take the 4:30 PM EST game, while the Cardinals and Rams will be the nightcap. The team of Chris Rose, Ross Tucker, and Steve Wyche will call the early game, Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, and Melanie Collins will handle the late game, and NFL Network’s usual team of Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, and Jamie Erdahl will call the primetime game.
Last season, the league only aired two games on Saturday — Bengals/Steelers on NBC and the controversial Peacock-exclusive matchup between the Bills and Chargers that delivered, at the time, record numbers for the streamer. Now, the league’s network will take the reins from NBC and give football fans a full slate of Saturday games.
While many sports fans will no doubt enjoy the additional day of football, many will likely bemoan the late window on Sunday. Now only two games remain — a matchup between the 6-8 Miami Dolphins and 3-11 Browns on CBS, and an NFC East rivalry matchup between the soaring Philadelphia Eagles and battered Dallas Cowboys on FOX, both of which have a chance to be games that could be lopsided.
The new Saturday tripleheader means football fans only have to survive Friday, Dec. 27 without NFL football, which should help them get through the post-holiday blues.
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