Seattle Seahawks v Washington Commanders
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Through the first 11 weeks of the season, the NFL still hasn't flexed a single game and that streak will continue into Week 12, because the deadline has already passed for flexing a game next week. That means the first time we could see a game get flexed this year will come in Week 13 and the NFL should give some serious thought to pulling the trigger on a schedule change.

It won't be easy to flex a game that week because it's Thanksgiving, which means there are four games that can't be moved (The three Thanksgiving games plus the Black Friday game). However, a flex would still make a lot of sense. 

Before we get to that, though, let's take a look at the rules for flex scheduling: 

  • Sunday night flexing: The NFL can flex up to two games between Weeks 5-10. For Weeks 11 thru 17, the league can flex as many games as it sees fit. The league has to decide and announce any changes no later than 12 days in advance of the game. 
  • Monday night flexing: Flex scheduling can be used any time between Weeks 12 thru 17. The league has to decide and announce any changes no later than 12 days in advance of the game. 
  • Thursday night flexing: The NFL can flex up to two games between Weeks 13-17.

Although the league is allowed to flexing a Thursday night game is permitted, that won't be happening in Week 13. For one, it's too late: A Thursday flex has to happen with 21 days notice. Also, the league doesn't flex Thanksgiving games, those are set in stone. 

In Week 13, there are the two games eligible to be flexed out of prime time: 

With most fans locked into their holiday travel plans, I would be shocked if the NFL flexed out the Patriots game, because that would mean moving the game to Sunday and moving a Sunday game to Monday. So we're going to focus on the Broncos-Commanders game. That's the one game that probably needs to be moved. 

The NFL has to make the call on possibly moving the Broncos-Commanders game by Tuesday, so the league can watch what happens in Week 11 before making a decision. 

If the Commanders lose to the Dolphins on Sunday in Spain, that would drop them to 3-8. To make matters worse, Jayden Daniels is currently out with en elbow injury and it's unlikely he'll be ready to play in Week 13 although he will be re-evaluated following Washington's Week 12 bye. And let's not forget, the Commanders have one of the worst defenses in the league. The NFL already had to deal with Broncos playing a prime time game against a team with a backup QB and a bad defense, and things got ugly. Back in Week 4, Denver beat the Bengals, 28-3, on "Monday Night Football."

The Commanders have also lost four straight games by at least 20 points, which is the second-longest losing streak by 20 points or more in NFL history. Basically, they're getting blown out every week and that doesn't make for good TV. 

Of course, if the NFL is going to flex a game out of Sunday night, you have to find a game to flex in and there seems to be one interesting option:

Vikings (4-5) at Seahawks (7-2)

The NFL has the chance to put the Sam Darnold revenge game in prime time. Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 record last season, but for some reason, Minnesota decided to let him walk away during the offseason. Without Darnold, the Vikings have struggled this year while the Seahawks have thrived with their new quarterback. 

This flex option will only make sense if Minnesota beat the Bears on Sunday. If that happens, the Vikings will be either 6-5 or 5-6 going into Week 13, depending on what happens in Week 12 against the Packers. As for the Seahawks, they only have one primetime game the rest of the season and that doesn't come until Week 16, so it would make sense to put them in the national spotlight at least one more time since they've been one of the best teams in the NFL this year. 

Even if the Vikings are 5-6 going into this game, there is precedent for a team with a losing record getting flexed into Sunday night. Last season, the NFL flexed a 4-5 Bengals team into a Week 11 Sunday night game against the Chargers. The flex announcement was made after Week 9 and the Bengals lost in Week 10, so they were actually 4-6 going into the game. 

One other option: Texans (4-5) at Colts (8-2)

The Colts have been one of best teams in the NFL this year, but most people probably haven't gotten a chance to watch them because they haven't played a prime time game yet. The Colts only have one prime time game on their schedule and that won't come until Week 16 against the 49ers. The Texans would be a riskier pick, but if they beat the Titans on Sunday, that would put them at 5-5 heading into Week 12. They do play the Bills in Week 12, so they'd either be 5-6 or 6-5 going into Week 13. The one problem with this game is that if it gets moved, that would put the Texans in primetime for three straight weeks (They play the Bills on Thursday night in Week 12 and the Chiefs on Sunday night in Week 14). 

The Bills and Steelers also play in Week 13, but with that being the 4:25 p.m. ET game going to most of the country, it would be somewhat surprising if that got flexed to Sunday night.