The NFL is the most significant business in town, and that could have teams playing two games in four or five days multiple times thanks to a new proposal.
Adam Schefter reports that NFL owners have approved a proposal allowing flex scheduling for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football in a move that will undoubtedly impact the Philadelphia Eagles.
Flexing for Thursday Night Football just passed, 24-8, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 22, 2023
The scheduling can start in weeks 13-17, teams can only be flexed twice on Thursday night, and the NFL has to give the selected teams 28 days’ notice before announcing the move.
NFL will now allow for teams to play multiple TNF games in a season, which opens the possibility that some teams could wind up off the hook completely in a given season.
Will be interesting to get reaction from the first team(s) to get two TNF games. https://t.co/Ph6n87igt9
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 28, 2023
Raiders owner Mark Davis was among a group led most notably by New York Giants co-owner John Mara – who didn’t support the proposed scheduling tweak in primetime Thursday games.
The move now provides the NFL’s newest streaming partner with more attractive matchups later in the season.
Eagles could have 1:00 game moved
If a game scheduled between teams that are towards the bottom of the standings is flexed, a Sunday game between teams considered to be quality opponents could be moved from Sunday to Thursday.
Philadelphia has one late season 1:00 game and Amazon could look to score another prime opportunity to have Jalen Hurts on their screen.
Injury risk
The Eagles are one of the NFL’s healthiest teams over the past two years, but that theory and recipe will be put to the test.
Playing on a Thursday night following a Sunday game the previous week, gives players less time for rest and recovery than usual.
Critics believe that the short week increases risk of injury and potentially lowers the quality of competition. Players have also said the same thing.
Eagles are rockstars on the road
The goal is to increase viewership of TNF and this current version of the Eagles generates some of the best views around.
There won’t be many opportunities, but Amazon could attempt to get Philadelphia back on Thursday night twice after the huge road matchup against Houston in 2022.
Potential flexed games
The NFL won’t move the Eagles’ Week 13 matchup against the 49ers, the Christmas Day game against the Giants, nor will they move a huge matchup against Dallas. That leaves Week 15 at Seattle or Week 17 against the Cardinals as the only likely Thursday night flex opportunities for Philadelphia.
Final observation
Jeff Miller, NFL VP of Communications, Public Affairs, and Policy, said Friday that Thursday night games are “not a concern from a health and safety perspective.”
That theory will be test on winning teams and franchises that bring unique fandom on the road as such as Philadelphia, Dallas, and San Francisco.
The people most likely to be impacted are the fans, who’ll have less than a month to potentially switch their ticket or travel arragements.
