The NFL announced a strange Week 13 schedule change that has fans puzzled, to say the very least.
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL has moved the Denver Broncos-Houston Texans Week 13 contest from 4:05 p.m. EST to 1 p.m. EST. Replacing that game in the late afternoon 4:05 p.m. EST slot? The Carolina Panthers vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — two of the NFC’s worst teams with a combined record of 5-15.
This is certainly surprising because the Broncos (5-5) and Texans (6-4) are both in the tight AFC postseason race. And usually, the NFL schedules marquee non-primetime games in the late afternoon slots.
Predictably, football fans were left confused by the league’s by the Week 13 flex:
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Along with the Panthers-Bucs contest, the Cleveland Browns-Los Angeles Rams (4:25 p.m. EST) and San Francisco 49ers-Philadelphia Eagles (4:25 p.m. EST) games will also be featured in the late afternoon.
CBS is especially the big loser here. The Broncos-Texans game is by far the most intriguing contest on CBS’ slate of games for Week 13, and now they’re left to air Carolina vs. Tampa Bay in the late afternoon against FOX’s marquee Eagles-49ers game.
On the other side of the coin, this is a big win for FOX. The 49ers-Eagles contest was always going to draw giant viewership numbers, but the lack of legitimate competition from CBS in the late afternoon slot will only lead to greater ratings.
