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Eagles won’t be flexed back to ‘Sunday Night Football’

Eagles fans won't have to endure another late game in Week 14. The NFL has decided to flex the Miami Dolphins game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 11 into prime time.

Eagles fans won't have to endure another late night on Week 14, as the NFL is keeping Eagles-Giants at 1 p.m. on Dec. 11.
Eagles fans won't have to endure another late night on Week 14, as the NFL is keeping Eagles-Giants at 1 p.m. on Dec. 11.Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer
    by Rob Tornoe
    Published 

Eagles fans no longer have to worry about staying up late in a couple of weeks.

The NFL has decided to flex the Miami Dolphins Week 14 game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 11 into prime time, where it will air on NBC’s Sunday Night Football at 8:20 p.m. It will replace a lopsided matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos, which will now take place at 4:05 p.m. on CBS.

The Eagles’ schedule remains unchanged. The Birds will take on the New York Giants at 1 p.m. on Fox at MetLife Stadium.

Several factors likely contributed to the NFL’s decision, including the Giants’ downturn over the past month. Moving Eagles-Giants to prime time would’ve also created logistical issues for Fox, which would’ve been left with a barren slate at 1 p.m.

It’s also an opportunity for the league to spotlight the surprising Dolphins, who are in first place in the AFC East behind quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who replaced Jalen Hurts at Alabama during the 2018 National Championship game.

The Eagles are eligible to be flexed to one more primetime game this season, according to the NFL’s flexible scheduling rules. But with games remaining against the Chicago Bears (3-9) and New Orleans Saints (4-8), there aren’t any obvious flex options remaining on the Birds schedule.

It’s the second move the NFL has made this season under their flexible scheduling rules. Back in Week 11, the league moved Bengals-Steelers off Sunday Night Football in Week 11 in favor of Chiefs-Chargers.

There’s at least one remaining Sunday Night Football game that seems like an option for NFL to flex away from — Week 15′s match-up between the New England Patriots (6-5) and Las Vegas Raiders (4-7). One option could be Dolphins vs. the Buffalo Bills, which is one of five games currently unscheduled that could end up in the NFL’s Saturday triple-header on the NFL Network.

» READ MORE: NBC did the unthinkable during Eagles-Packers broadcast

A quick reminder how the NFL’s flexible scheduling rules work this season:

  1. Flexible scheduling is in effect from Weeks 11 to 18, and only Sunday afternoon games can be moved into Sunday night.

  2. CBS and Fox can protect a handful of games from getting flexed.

  3. The NFL must announce any flexible schedule changes no later than 12 days prior to the game (Week 18 changes can be announced six days in advance).

  4. No team may appear more than six times across the NFL’s three prime time packages on NBC, ESPN, and Amazon’s Prime Video, not including Week 18.

Next season, the league’s rules will change to include ESPN’s Monday Night Football in its flexible scheduling.

Here’s the Eagles’ remaining TV schedule:

  1. Week 13, Dec. 4: Titans at Eagles, 1 p.m., Fox

  2. Week 14, Dec. 11: Eagles at Giants, 1 p.m., Fox

  3. Week 15, Dec. 18: Eagles at Bears, 1 p.m., Fox

  4. Week 16, Dec. 24: Eagles at Cowboys, 4:25 p.m., Fox

  5. Week 17, Jan. 1: Saints at Eagles, 1 p.m., Fox

  6. Week 18, Jan. 7 or 8: Giants at Eagles, TBD, TBD