At noon on Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will play football in Nashville vs the Tennessee Titans. Outside of their own fans, and maybe those hoping to catch a Sam Darnold and/or Will Levis turnover-fest in real time, there aren’t a lot of people earmarking this matchup as a week 11 “must watch”.
But for the Vikings, that hasn’t been the case very often. Picked to finish last in the NFC North by most media outlets and online oddsmakers, Minnesota has surged out to a 7-2 start, and they’ve defeated preseason juggernauts like the 49ers and Texans, plus the division rival Packers, in Lambeau.
Minnesota Vikings may be flexed into prime time again
As a surprise playoff competitor with a huge, active fanbase, the Vikings are a perfect “flex” candidate in 2024. In fact, they’ve already been “flexed” into prime time once this season, when their week 9 contest vs the Indianapolis Colts was moved from noon, November 3 (CBS), to 7:20 PM (NBC) for Sunday Night Football.
With two months remaining in the season, could the Vikings be flexed again? Ben Goessling (Star Tribune) says yes, and he brings insider steam to the situation. Apparently, the NFL has its eye on the Vikings’ week 13 game vs the Arizona Cardinals as a possible flex candidate. As of today, it is scheduled for noon that Sunday (December 1).
The Vikings’ Dec. 1 game against the Cardinals could be a candidate to move to Monday night as part of the NFL’s flexible scheduling process.
Ben Goessling – Star Tribune
What new time slot would the Vikings vs Cardinals game get flexed into? The NFL is thinking about pushing it back about 30 hours, to Monday Night Football, which is currently scheduled to broadcast (2-7) Browns vs (5-5) Broncos. According to Goessling, the move would have to be announced by Tuesday, per league flex rules.
Troy Aikman prematurely spilled the beans last month
Monday Night Football color commentator and HOF QB Troy Aikman mentioned, on Barstool’s Pardon My Take Podcast, back on October 9, that he’s a big fan of the NFL’s flex scheduling, which only started for Monday Night Football last season.
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Aikman went on to say, back then, that ESPN and the NFL were already targeting Cleveland vs Denver (week 13) as a likely flex candidate. Week 12 is the first week in 2024, where their contract with ESPN allows flex scheduling.
“[MNF is] getting good games. There was a time when I don’t know that they could necessarily say that. But, the league has been fantastic, Roger Goodell has been amazing. We’ve had really good schedules, and now, we have flex scheduling. Obviously, that’s what drives viewership and we are lucky the league has supported us the way that they have.”
“There’s a game… we’re at Denver…. it might be Cleveland at Denver, that may end up being a flex, is what it’s kind of looking like, as we talk.”
Troy Aikman – Pardon My Take (October 9)
The Minnesota Vikings were supposed to be an NFC bottom-dweller, but the NFL schedule-makers still gave them two prime time matchups, for 2024. The first was scheduled for Thursday Night Football in week 8 vs the Rams, a game they lost. The other is week 15 vs the Chicago Bears.
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Another flex, on top of their week 9 flex, would give the Vikings a total of four prime time games this season. As the NFL season gets into its later stages, TV companies that pay billions of dollars to broadcast NFL games want teams playing who will bring in viewers, usually playoff-caliber.
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