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In Week 16, the Cowboys-Eagles matchup in Philadelphia could decide the NFC East title, making it a good candidate to be flexed. Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

2019 NFL games we want flexed to Sunday night

By Mike Tunison and Chris Mueller | Last updated 11/21/19

Yardbarker NFL writers Michael Tunison and Chris Mueller address some of the hottest issues in the league. This week's topic: Which games in the final weeks of the regular season are most likely to be flexed into a prime-time slot?

Tunison: Flex scheduling technically goes into effect beginning in Week 5, though I have a hard time remembering it ever being used that early in a season. That's most likely because it's still somewhat unclear at that point which teams are good and which aren't. And even if certain expected contenders get off to poor starts, there's plenty of time to reverse course. Now that we're into the back half of November, it's the peak period for games being shifted around to get the most enticing matchups into the most prominent time slot: Sunday night.

The next two Sunday night games are Packers-49ers and Patriots-Texans, so those are safe where they are. According to the NFL, the flex announcement must come at least 12 days before game day.

Week 15 seems like the first pressing need for flex scheduling on the horizon. As it stands, the Sunday night game is Vikings at Chargers, a lackluster affair on account of Los Angeles being woefully out of contention. I suppose it's possible the Chargers (4-7) could win the next two after their Week 12 bye to make things more interesting, but given that they've lost their past two, I have my doubts. Even if they do win, Rams at Cowboys looks to be a much more consequential contest. The only danger with that is that the Rams are on "Sunday Night Football" the week before against Seattle, and because their offense is far less exciting than it has been the past few years, back-to-back weeks of them in prime time might be more than some fans are willing to stomach.

Mueller: Count me among those tired of seeing the Rams play in prime time. I’m just sort of depressed when I see them on the screen. DT Aaron Donald, the best player in the sport, is still a lot of fun, but watching such a high-flying offense get grounded so suddenly and decisively is a downer.

In that spirit, let’s get that Rams-Seahawks game in Week 14 out of prime time. Sure, it might have significant consequences, particularly for Los Angeles, but I’d much rather see those teams play an innocuous 4:05 ET game. Saints-49ers, currently languishing as part of the early slate, deserves to be a prime-time game. The stakes, the teams involved, and the setting make it a winner on multiple levels.

If the Saints (8-2) and 49ers (9-1) keep winning, their battle could determine home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The Saints have plenty of Q-rating with the average football fan, mostly because of Drew Brees, but also because they’ve been good enough for long enough that casual fans care about them. Plus, there’s the whole vibe of a Superdome crowd. The place pops on television, and some of the league’s most rabid fans will be even more keyed up if the eyes of the nation are trained on the Big Easy.

If that doesn’t suit you, let's scrap Chiefs-Bears in Week 16 -- Chicago’s offense should be seen by as few people as possible -- and go with a classic rivalry: Cowboys-Eagles. With each team playing a divisional dreg to close the season the following week, this game in Philadelphia could be a de facto playoff game. The NFC East is only getting one team to the postseason unless something unusual happens, and right now these teams are separated by just a game. A lubricated Philly crowd, Dak Prescott versus Carson Wentz, plenty of tension, and the distinct possibility that Santa Claus might get booed -- what’s not to like?

Tunison: Since we have the likely flexed Sunday night games in Weeks 14-16 covered, all that's left is which division contest gets highlighted to close the regular season in Week 17. Of course, as we saw with the underwhelming final Sunday slate in 2017, there's no guarantee that the NFL moves a game to the prime-time slot if it feels there isn't one worthy of the designation. More likely, though, the league would prefer that not be the case, as it's a bit of embarrassing way to close out before the playoffs.

It is a shame the league didn't have the foresight to have Cowboys-Eagles be a Week 17 game, especially since by just about anyone's estimation those were the likeliest teams to be vying for the NFC East crown even before the season started. 49ers-Seahawks seems like the obvious choice of those scheduled, given that they have the current highest combined win total of any matchup that Sunday. But win total isn't everything, and while San Francisco and Seattle are only separated by one game now, it's entirely possible one team pulls away with the division by a comfortable margin before then.

The Niners are looking a little more vulnerable than the Seahawks in recent weeks -- Seattle (8-2) has won three straight and San Francisco (9-1) suffered its first loss in Week 10 in Seattle, then squeaked out a victory on the road in Arizona in Week 11 by a less comfortable margin than the final score (36-26) indicates. The Niners also have an exceedingly difficult final six games of the season, with five of them coming against teams with winning records, including road games in Baltimore, New Orleans and Seattle. Their lone game against a team with a losing record comes against the Falcons (3-7), who seem to have finally found a little life the last few weeks.

What the NFL really wants for that Week 17 flex is essentially a playoff game, something that would decide a division. Aside from San Francisco-Seattle, the best chance looks to be Tennessee (5-5)-Houston (6-4), which is already somewhat of a built-in rivalry given that the Titans are just the renamed Houston Oilers. Three teams in the AFC South are separated by just a game, so it seems less likely that one pulls away than the Niners or Seahawks coasting to their division title. It's entirely possible it could still be a three-team race by Week 17, in which case Titans-Texans looks slightly stronger than Colts-Jaguars.

The only other divisions that seem like they might still be in play on that final Sunday are the AFC West and the NFC North. Sadly, the NFL didn't have the good fortune to have either a second Chiefs-Raiders or Packers-Vikings tilt scheduled for Week 17.

Mueller: If we’re picking between Texans-Titans and Colts-Jaguars as the possible AFC South “playoff” game, I’d rather see Indy and Jacksonville, but only if Gardner Minshew gets the starting QB job back and rallies the Jaguars for several wins in a row. The story there is great, but otherwise I’m having trouble generating much emotional investment in teams that don’t have a lot of compelling elements.

The best, most realistic hope for Week 17 is that the 49ers and Seahawks keep winning and end up on a collision course that not only decides the NFC West, but also the No. 1 seed in the conference. That’s the best possible scenario for the NFL, because the rest of the slate already looks like a bunch of throwaway games. That’s the problem with striving for parity: If it doesn’t work, you’re left with a host of eminently forgettable contests that give the viewer no real reason to tune in. Fantasy leagues are done, most divisions and playoff spots are sewn up, and even the gamblers might stay away on account of not knowing which contending teams will rest their regulars and which will go full-bore.

Here’s a crazy idea that could spice up Week 17, one sure to be hated by purists: In all games that pit non-playoff teams against each other, the winning team gets a supplemental draft pick. They can be sprinkled at random from, say, the third round through the fifth, and then drawn in some sort of lottery. Anything to give every team an incentive to play hard would be welcome, and it would be fun to see which coaches put high value in securing an extra choice. It’s a pie-in-the-sky idea, but something needs to be done to give the season’s final week a little juice.

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