The NFL schedule is largely built around primetime games, where Americans gather around televisions to watch the same game at the same time. These games with monstrous ratings are often the best games of the week. Other times, they are some of the worst games of the year. The league granted Amazon Prime Video the right to flex out of Thursday Night Football games last season. For the first time, they exercised that right. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Week 16’s game will be Broncos at Chargers and not Browns at Bengals.
“The first Thursday night flex: The Week 16 Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers game will move to Thursday Night Football on Prime Video while the Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals matchup will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.”
The Bengals are the reason this game has been flexed. With high expectations again, Cincinnati already has eight losses and will likely be eliminated from playoff contention by Week 16. There were always questions about the Browns and Deshaun Watson’s injury did not help answer them. This game will not have playoff implications.
The game coming into Thursday Night Football will have massive Wild Card implications. Despite having a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix, the Broncos have been solid this year. Meanwhile, Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers are firing on all cylinders.
Thursday Night Football gets major facelift
The current iteration of Thursday Night Football is a much better product than the original iteration. While streaming is not perfect, Prime Video gets better games than NFL Network ever did. Add that with the ability to flex and this has become a true primetime spot.
Thursday Night Football was on full display in Week 11 with the first snow game of the season between the Browns and Steelers. The visually appealing game was not the best football game ever but snow always sells. They are taking away the opportunity for snow with this game in Los Angeles.
There are still a few less-than-appealing games on the primetime slate, including Thursday Night Football. Their Week 17 finale is Seahawks at Bears, which could be two eliminated teams. The Browns are back on primetime in Week 12 with a matchup against the Broncos. The Bengals-Cowboys Monday Night game in Week 14 cannot be flexed because of a Simpsons alt-cast that cannot be scrapped.
As Thursday Night Football on Amazon continues, they must flex bad games out of their window. Putting important late-season games on Prime Video will heighten the product for seasons to come.
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