After last season’s Thursday Night Football matchups, one of which Amazon’s Al Michaels described as “dreadful,” the NFL hopes to bring more logic to their primetime action in 2023.
On Monday, the league’s team owners approved flex scheduling for TNF games for this season only, but the rule change comes with a specific set of rules that limits the usage of the procedure.
Any game the NFL decides to flex or change the date and time on must come with a 28-day notice ahead of time, informing each team of the alteration. Another caveat is that the NFL can only flex games on the schedule from Weeks 13-17.
This means the currently scheduled Thursday Night Football matchups from Nov. 30 to Dec. 28 could all be moved around, with at least a 28-day notice before doing so. Here are the games that could potentially be flexed thanks to the new rule change.
| Date | Game | Time (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 30 | Seahawks at Cowboys | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Dec. 7 | Patriots at Steelers | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Dec. 14 | Chargers at Raiders | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Dec. 21 | Saints at Rams | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Dec. 28 | Jets at Browns | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
The NFL also may not flex their muscles more than two times per season, and if we don’t see any games flexed this year, the rule change will stay in effect for 2024 too, as a sort of test. Still, teams will not have to flex more than once or play more than two TNF games in a single season.
Both Sunday and Monday night games could already be flexed, but until this amendment, Thursday’s games were set in stone. Owners passed the rule with 24 voting yes and eight voting no.
Now, if any of the above teams experience a rash of injuries to key contributors or both teams are in the midst of a rebuilding season, the league has the ability to try and find a more interesting game. We’ll see whether the change comes into play later this winter.