NFL
NFL Week 15 schedule changes: Teams affected, new dates and times of the games
This marks the first time in history that the National Football League has changed the teams in a ‘Monday Night Football’ game matchup.
The NFL has made some significant changes to its schedule of upcoming games. The most notable difference is that the league has switched the teams at a “Monday Night Football” game for the first time. The original matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots scheduled for Monday night has been moved to Sunday afternoon. In its place, the Philadelphia Eagles will now play against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night.
In addition to this, the NFL has created a tripleheader of games on Saturday, December 16th. The Vikings and Bengals game, initially scheduled for Sunday, has been moved to Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. This will be followed by the Steelers and Colts game at 4:30 p.m. ET and the Broncos and Lions game at 8:15 p.m. ET.
The Eagles, who currently have the best record in the league, will now have three consecutive standalone games. They will face the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday night, the Seahawks in Seattle on Monday night, and then host the New York Giants on Christmas Day.
The NFL has chosen to highlight the Vikings and Bengals game, which would have otherwise been lost in the shuffle of Week 15 Sunday games. Both teams have suffered season-ending injuries to their quarterbacks, Joe Burrow and Kirk Cousins. Despite these setbacks, the Vikings still run for a playoff spot in the NFC.
The league will also showcase a Steelers and Colts matchup that should have playoff implications. Both teams are inside the AFC playoff bubble and will fight hard for a postseason spot. The night will end with an exciting game between the resurgent Broncos and the Lions. The Lions are hoping to win their first division crown since 1991, while the Broncos have been playing with renewed vigor lately.
The most surprising thing about this move from the NFL is that they have thrown out the reigning NFL champion from the prime time slot, but it appears that the series of bad results for the New England Patriots was the comprehensive reason for such a decision.