The NFL has flexed its first game of the season.
The league moved the Cincinnati Bengals-Los Angeles Chargers matchup in Week 11 to “Sunday Night Football” on NBC on Monday afternoon. In exchange, the game between the New York Jets and the Indianapolis Colts scheduled for Nov. 17 was then moved to 1 p.m. ET.
Though they are coming off of a win, the NFL’s decision to flex the Jets out of primetime shouldn’t come as much of a surprise at this point in the season. The Jets just snapped a five-game losing skid with a 21-13 win over the Houston Texans on Thursday night, which only improved them to 3-6 on the year. The team fired head coach Robert Saleh last month, and veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers has struggled for most of the season.
The Colts aren’t looking much better, either. The Minnesota Vikings beat the Colts 21-13 on Sunday night, which marked their second straight loss and moved them to 4-5 on the year. The team opted to start quarterback Joe Flacco on Sunday, too, after Anthony Richardson’s struggles. Richardson was reportedly failing to understand the “gravity of the job” of a starting quarterback and wasn’t preparing well enough, either, which led to the switch at the position. He also said he took himself out of their loss to the Houston Texans briefly because he was “tired.”
The Bengals-Chargers game, at least on paper, is sure to be significantly better. The Bengals have won three of their last four games, and are fresh off a five-touchdown outing from Joe Burrow in their blowout win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. The Chargers just beat the Browns 27-10 on Sunday, too, to pick up their third win in their last four outings and move to 5-3 on the season.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.