The NFL has officially scheduled its Saturday tripleheader for Week 17 while also flexing its post-Christmas ‘Sunday Night Football’ matchup.
The Saturday slate on Dec. 28 will kick off with the Los Angeles Chargers at the New England Patriots at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the Denver Broncos at the Cincinnati Bengals at 4:30 p.m., and the Arizona Cardinals taking on the Los Angeles Rams at 8 p.m.
All three games will be broadcast on NFL Network and available on NFL+, the league’s streaming service.
The NFL was set to pick three games from five possible matchups. One of the options – the Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders – will shift to ‘Sunday Night Football’ on Dec. 29 in place of the Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns. The other game – the Indianapolis Colts at New York Giants – will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
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The reworked could have notable ramifications for the playoff picture.
The Broncos (9-5) are in good shape to end their eight-season playoff drought, as they stand in the sixth seed in the AFC. But this Thursday’s matchup against the Chargers (8-6) could prove critical in establishing the wild-card pecking order, and Denver will be facing a resilient Bengals team (6-8) that has posted at least 34 points in four of the last six weeks.
The Rams (8-6) claimed the NFC West lead this weekend thanks to owning a tiebreaker against the Seattle Seahawks, but they’ll still need to finish strong given the state of the wild-card race and the Week 18 rematch with the Seahawks. The Cardinals need both teams to slip up in order to make up ground in the division.
The Commanders (9-5) are clinging to the final NFC wild-card spot, while the best hope for the Falcons (7-7) is probably catching up to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) for the NFC South crown given Atlanta has already swept the Bucs this season, a decisive tiebreaker if the clubs wind up deadlocked.
NFL Week 17 schedule
Wednesday, Dec. 25
Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET, Netflix
Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans, 4:30 p.m. ET, Netflix
Thursday, Dec. 26
Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears, 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video
Saturday, Dec. 28
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals, 4:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams, 8 p.m. ET, NFL Network
Sunday, Dec. 29
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Indianapolis Colts at New York Giants, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Miami Dolphins at Cleveland Browns, 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Monday, Dec. 30
Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC