The NFL schedule has been in place since spring. But the league keeps making small adjustments. In Week 16 this also affects the Thursday Night Game.
The NFL is rescheduling. The Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns do not open Week 16 on the Thursday evening before the fourth weekend in Advent. Instead, the Los Angeles Chargers’ game against the Denver Broncos will take place on that night from December 19th to 20th.
Division duel in the AFC West instead of the division duel in the AFC North. The Bengals and Browns are required to do this in the early slot on Sunday. The background to the swap is probably the significantly greater attractiveness of the new Thursday Night Game.
The Chargers are on course for the playoffs with a 7-3 record, as are the Broncos, who are 6-5. In contrast, the postseason this year seems to take place without the Bengals, who won four of eleven games, and the Browns, who at least improved their record to 3-8 with a 24:19 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s the first time the NFL has exercised its right to swap a Thursday Night Game. According to the current rules, two of the five Thursday Night Games in Weeks 13 to 17 can be postponed to another date with at least 28 days’ notice.
To date, the Chargers were one of six teams that had not been assigned to Thursday Night Football all season.
Week 17 of the NFL starts on a Wednesday
According to the current status, the following pairings will still take place as part of Thursday Night Football: In Week 13, because of Thanksgiving – which gives the fans a three-pack – the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders will not play against each other until Friday evening. The Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers open Week 14, and in Week 15 the San Francisco 49ers meet the Los Angeles Rams. A week later, as mentioned, the Chargers host the Broncos and in Week 17 the pairing is Chicago Bears against Seattle Seahawks.
On Thanksgiving game day, there are traditionally three matchups on Thursday, but they do not count towards Thursday Night Football. There is a special feature in Week 17, which already has two games on Christmas Day – a Wednesday.
