By Nick Kosmider, Daniel Popper and Zac Jackson
The NFL has flexed a recreation right into a “Thursday Evening Soccer” for the primary time, shifting the Denver Broncos’ Week 16 matchup on the Los Angeles Chargers into prime time on Dec. 19.
The 2 groups, led by former Oregon quarterbacks Bo Nix and Justin Herbert, had been initially set to play on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 22. The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals recreation that was initially slated for Thursday night time will now be performed that Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on Fox.
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NFL house owners permitted a rule change in 2023 that allowed video games to be flexed right into a Thursday slot between Weeks 13 and 17, with such strikes requiring a four-week discover.
The matchup means the Broncos will now play two prime-time video games in December, the primary coming in opposition to the Browns on “Monday Evening Soccer” in Week 13. The matchup in opposition to the Chargers will give a nationwide viewers a take a look at Nix, who received the AFC Offensive Participant of the Week award following his four-touchdown efficiency in a Week 11 rout of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Chargers, in the meantime, have received 5 out of their final six video games beneath first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh — the primary of these coming in a Week 6 win in opposition to the Broncos — and stay within the hunt for the AFC West title.
The Broncos, who already performed a Thursday night time street recreation earlier this season in opposition to the New Orleans Saints, needed to OK being flexed since this can be their second street Thursday night time recreation of the season. They’re embracing the change, partly, as a result of it is going to give them prolonged relaxation heading right into a pivotal Week 17 street recreation in opposition to the Bengals.
“We’d slightly be flexed in than flexed out,” stated Broncos coach Sean Payton. “It’s an actual good group that’s taking part in actual good (soccer). And it flexes Cincinnati out, who we play the following week, so there’s a little (relaxation consideration). It’s what it’s.”
Payton stated his 2006 Saints group was the primary one to flexed right into a Sunday night time matchup, in opposition to the Dallas Cowboys, however he downplayed the historical past of being the primary group flexed right into a Thursday slot.
“It’s all good,” he stated. “Simply inform us after we’re taking part in.”
Think about it the Harbaugh Impact
The Chargers have now been flexed into prime time for the second time this season. Their Week 11 matchup with the Bengals was moved from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night time. That ended up being an epic recreation, with the Bengals erasing a 21-point second-half deficit earlier than the Chargers pulled it out late on Herbert’s fifteenth profession game-winning drive.
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The Chargers are fascinating. The Chargers are thrilling. They’re good for enterprise. And now, they are going to be taking part in 4 prime-time video games in a six-week stretch, beginning with final week’s Bengals recreation. They host the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night time in Week 12. They play on the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs on Sunday night time in Week 14. — Daniel Popper, Chargers beat author
Can Nix make a press release in Rookie of the Yr race?
Nix had a gradual begin to the season, throwing just one landing and 4 interceptions throughout his first 4 video games. Since then, he’s arguably been the most effective rookie quarterback within the NFL (13 touchdowns, two interceptions), placing him firmly alongside gamers like Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and Las Vegas Raiders tight finish Brock Bowers within the Rookie of the Yr race. The “Thursday Evening Soccer” stage will give Nix the chance to make a significant assertion.
This would be the third matchup between Nix and Herbert, together with a university conflict in 2019, when Herbert was at Oregon and Nix was a real freshman starter at Auburn. Nix led a late landing drive to win that recreation at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Herbert got here out on high in Week 6 this season. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos beat author
Why the Bengals-Browns recreation moved
The Bengals aren’t out of competition but, however from a playoff enchantment standpoint, the transfer is smart. The Bengals are in all probability upset as a result of the house group has received 9 straight AFC North Thursday night time video games relationship again to 2015, a streak the Browns prolonged with their upset of the Steelers Thursday night time. The Browns now could possibly be back-to-back flex conditions; they’re presently scheduled to host Miami on Sunday night time in Week 17. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat author
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(Photograph: Dustin Bradford / Getty Photographs)
