For the second straight week, a change has been made to the NFL schedule that should please most football fans.
The first 2024 NFL schedule change for a prime-time game was confirmed on Monday afternoon: The Indianapolis Colts’ Week 9 road game against the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings has been flexed into the NBC “Sunday Night Football” slot, replacing the Jacksonville Jaguars-Philadelphia Eagles game.
The Colts and Vikings will kick off action at 8:20 p.m. EST, and the Jaguars-Eagles contest at Lincoln Financial Field will move to 4:05 p.m. EST on CBS.
🚨WEEK 9 SCHEDULE FLEX 🚨
Colts vs. Vikings will now be played at 8:20pm ET on NBC.
Jaguars vs. Eagles will move to 4:05pm ET on CBS. pic.twitter.com/8l7lROZGTk
— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
This is the second straight week where a change has been made to the NFL schedule. Last week, the league also announced that the Eagles-Cincinnati Bengals game will move to 1:00 p.m. ESt, with the Chicago Bears-Washington Commanders game being pushed to the late afternoon 4:25 p.m. EST slot.
💪🏈 @NFL FLEX ALERT!
Nov. 3 @Colts at @Vikings game will move to Sunday Night Football on NBC!
I’m about to sound the gjallarhorn for Sunday night football.
I’m about to sound the gjallarhorn for Sunday night football.
No pressure. ZERO. @gmfb pic.twitter.com/E98gHHrYB5
— Jamie Erdahl (@JamieErdahl) October 21, 2024
Trevor Lawrence’s Jaguars have been one of football’s biggest disappointments this season with a 2-5 record, so Doug Pederson’s second return to Philadelphia as the opposition’s head coach doesn’t carry as much hype now.
The Vikings, on the other hand, have been arguably the league’s biggest surprise up to this point with a 5-1 record. The Colts are also in the playoff mix with a 4-3 record, so the average NFL fan should be a lot more content with a Minny-Indy prime-time game compared to Jacksonville vs. Philly.
However, there may be some fans wondering if this was the best that the NFL could do, with intriguing matchups like the Cowboys-Falcons, Dolphins-Bills, Broncos-Ravens, Bears-Cardinals and Lions-Packers also on week 9’s Sunday slate.
Expect Several More NFL Schedule Changes For Prime-Time Games
Looking at other “Sunday Night Football” games on the schedule, it seems likely that the league will flex the Eagles-Los Angeles Rams Week 12 game out of its prime-time slot. The Rams are a disappointing 2-5, and Week 12 offers three superior matchups: the Colts vs. the Detroit Lions, the Commanders vs. the Dallas Cowboys, and the Geen Bay Packers vs. the San Francisco 49ers.
Don’t forget that the NFL also has the option to flex “Monday Night Football” games, with the Cleveland Browns-Denver Broncos (Week 13) and Atlanta Falcons-Las Vegas Raiders (Week 15) already looking like duds.
