NFL Most Valuable Player candidate Tua Tagovailoa and the rising Miami Dolphins will get an extra prime-time showcase, as their Week 14 road game against the Los Angeles Chargers was moved to the “Sunday Night Football” slot.
The move was announced Tuesday as part of the NFL’s flex scheduling plan. The league reserves the right to replace the Sunday night games late in the season in favor of a better matchup.
In this case, the Dec. 11 Dolphins-Chargers game will get the 8:20 p.m. ET position on NBC, trading places with that day’s Kansas City Chiefs-at-Denver Broncos contest, which will now air on CBS at 4:05 p.m. ET.
The Dolphins (8-3) have an 8-0 record in games that Tagovailoa has started and finished. Tagovailoa was carted off from the field during Miami’s 27-15 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 29, and the Dolphins dropped the next two games without him.
Tagovailoa has thrown for 2,564 yards and 19 touchdowns with just three interceptions. He is the third favorite for MVP at DraftKings with +500 odds, trailing just Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (-160) and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (+350).
FanDuel has Mahomes at -140, Hurts at +350 and Tagovailoa at +600.
The Chargers (6-5) are just one win out of a playoff position after pulling out a 25-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the last minute on Sunday.
The Chiefs (9-2) own the best record in the AFC, but their matchup against the Broncos became less appealing with Denver sitting at 3-8 and riding a three-game losing streak.
–Field Level Media