The NFL could flex Baltimore’s Week 17 game vs. the Dolphins, but city officials are not concerned about potential overlap with downtown festivities
Mayor Brandon Scott said he wants to see the Ravens-Dolphins game on New Year’s Eve moved to a prime time slot on “Sunday Night Football,” swatting away a claim that he and Police Commissioner Richard Worley approached the team and the league about keeping the game in the afternoon because of “security concerns.” Laminated Printing Fabric
If the NFL were to use “flexible scheduling” to move the matchup between two top AFC contenders to “Sunday Night Football,” which typically kicks off about 8:15 p.m., the game would commence shortly after the start of New Year’s festivities at the Inner Harbor.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Scott responded to a Miami Dolphins podcaster who made the claim and said he has a friend in the Baltimore mayor’s office: “Wrong. I’ve told any and everybody that we want it on @SNFonNBC because that’s where it belongs!”
While we’re at it, Scott said, the Ravens’ season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers — he used underscores in place of the city’s first five letters, suggesting a certain scatological pun common among Baltimore fans — at M&T Bank Stadium should be flexed, too.
“We want the smoke!” he said.
Since 2006, the NFL has used flex scheduling to ensure “quality matchups on Sunday night in all weeks and gave surprise teams a chance to play their way onto primetime.”
Between Weeks 5-14 of the NFL season, up to three games can be flexed to “Sunday Night Football.” But during Weeks 15-17, games can be moved to NBC’s Sunday night showcase at the league’s discretion, according to an article on NFL.com. This year, the league expanded flex scheduling to include “Thursday Night Football” and “Monday Night Football.”
A decision on the Baltimore-Miami game will be made “no later than six days prior to the game,” according to the league, which would place the deadline on Monday, Dec. 25, when the Ravens (11-3) are taking on the San Francisco 49ers (11-3) on “Monday Night Football” in what’s already being billed as the NFL’s Game of the Year.
Under the current Week 17 schedule, the Green Bay Packers (6-8) will face the Minnesota Vikings (7-7) at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on “Sunday Night Football.” The “Monday Night Football” game for that week is being played on Saturday (confused yet?) due to the College Football Playoff beginning on Jan. 1; the NFL has not announced a change to that scheduled game (Lions at Cowboys.)
All Week 18 games have a kickoff time that has yet to be determined.
Baltimore’s New Year’s Eve festivities start at 8 p.m. with live music at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater. The evening will culminate with fireworks and — new this year — a drone show, the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts announced.
Brandon Weigel is the Breaking News Editor at The Baltimore Banner.
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