Get ready to watch the Denver Broncos in a pair of nationally-televised games with Christmas right in the middle.
The Broncos are currently scheduled to play the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football on Dec. 19. Nine days later, Denver is expected to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, Dec. 28 as part of NFL Network’s triple header of games in Week 17.
“Christmas is always the challenge in the NFL, period,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said during a conference call with reporters on Monday when asked about the team’s upcoming schedule. “All I wanted them to know is we think we’re playing the Bengals on a Saturday. I don’t know if it’s been announced yet or not, but we’re just trying to manage the Thursday game and then the Saturday game so these guys can at least have answers for their wives. That was really the whole point of it.
“The focus obviously for us is this Thursday. For them with family traveling and whatnot… We’re basically going to next week create… Pretend Saturday is a Sunday and work backwards. Tuesday is going to be like a Wednesday for us, you guys. Wednesday will be like a Thursday. Thursday will be like a Friday, and Friday will be like a Saturday, and we’ll travel.”
The Broncos-Bengals matchup is one of five games in contention to be flexed into three Saturday windows on NFLN on Dec. 28. Payton expects the game to be flexed, with an announcement likely coming soon.
