NFL flexes ‘Monday Night Football’ game for first time
Apr 29, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announces the final pick of the 2021 NFL Draft for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at First Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL is flexing a “Monday Night Football” game for the first time ever, and it surprisingly involves the Kansas City Chiefs being moved out of the slot.
The league announced Thursday that the Week 15 game between the Chiefs and New England Patriots is being moved to Sunday, while the game between the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles will replace it on Monday night.
Monday Night Football has its first-ever flex 📝
Eagles-Seahawks will be replacing Chiefs-Patriots for Week 15 on Dec. 18. pic.twitter.com/DftrGpTVU2
— ESPN (@espn) November 30, 2023
This is a pretty big move considering how much exposure the Chiefs get in primetime games.
But the change has much more to do with the Patriots, who have two wins on the season. Even they know they are bad and not worthy of a primetime game, even though this would have been a marquee matchup a few years ago.
This is the first season the NFL can use flex scheduling for Monday night. It has been in place for Sunday night games for several years, and it is saving us from what might have turned into a very ugly Monday night game in Week 15.
