With week 13 nearly over, the NFL is making changes to the upcoming slate of primetime games. The league announced on Sunday that the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers has been flexed and will now be played on Sunday night in week 15. This will be the first time in 12 years that the Bills have featured during Sunday Night Football.
The last time that the Buffalo Bills were part of NBC’s primetime schedule, they faced off with the undefeated New England Patriots in 2007. Tom Brady and Randy Moss ran amok en route to a 56-10 victory. This upcoming battle with the Steelers will be the first night game of the season for the AFC team given that they were the only team in the NFL that didn’t receive a primetime game when the original schedule was released in April.
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In order to make this flex happen, the league took the original Sunday night game, Minnesota vs. Los Angeles, and moved it to the late afternoon. The Vikings and Chargers will now kick off at 4:05 p.m. ET. Mike Zimmer’s team that wears purple is in the middle of the playoff race, but the Chargers are now 4-8 after having lost yet another game by fewer than seven points.
The Bills, on the other hand, are 9-3 after Thanksgiving’s game. Defeating the Cowboys on the road in front of a national audience showed that this team can compete when all eyes are on them, and now the NFL will be giving them another chance to shine.
Additionally, the Bills will have an opportunity to swoop in and steal the AFC East crown from the New England Patriots if they keep winning. Brady and his struggling offense fell prey to the Houston Texans on Sunday night, moving them to 10-2 on the season. There is one more head-to-head matchup between the Patriots and Bills, which could potentially be for first place in the division.
Of course, the Bills first have to face off with the streaking Baltimore Ravens, a team that has beaten every Super Bowl contender on the schedule. This includes victories over the Texans, Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks. Following that game, the Bills will have to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are also in contention for a playoff spot. Only by doing so will they have the opportunity to take out the rival Patriots and gain a serious advantage in the AFC East.
(Photo Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty)
