The NFL schedule for Week 17 just underwent a major change. The league has announced that a total of six games will be moved, with the biggest shakeup coming on Dec. 28, when the NFL will play its first and only tripleheader of the season on Saturday.
When the NFL published the 2024 calendar in MayThe league announced that three games would be played on Saturday, December 28, but the NFL did not announce who would play in those games. That mystery was finally solved Tuesday when the NFL revealed the six teams that will play Saturday in Week 17.
Let’s look at Saturday’s schedule:
- Chargers (8-6) at Patriots (3-11), 1 p.m. ET (NFL Network)
- Broncos (9-5) at Bengals (6-8), 4:30 p.m. ET (NFL Network)
- Cardinals (7-7) at Rams (8-6), 8:15 p.m. ET (NFL Network)
If the Broncos beat the Chargers in Week 16, then Denver will clinch a playoff spot, but even in that scenario, at least two of these Saturday games will have playoff implications.
When the NFL schedule came out in May, the league gave itself a total of five games to choose from that could be moved to Saturday in Week 17. The other two games that were not chosen for Saturday will now be played on Sunday. December 29.
Those two games are Colts vs. Giants and Falcons vs. Commanders.
The Colts-Giants game was postponed Sunday afternoon, while the Falcons-Commanders game heads to prime time. The matchup in Washington will now be the Sunday night game in Week 17, with the Dolphins against the Browns being eliminated from the spot.
Here’s a look at the schedule for those three games:
- Colts (6-8) vs. Giants (2-12), 1 p.m. ET (Fox)
- Dolphins (6-8) vs. Browns (3-11), 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
- Falcons (7-7) vs. Commanders (9-5), 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
With the Commanders playing so well, the NFL probably wanted to give them more exposure. Although the Falcons have already played a Sunday night game this year, this will mark Washington’s first appearance of the season in a Sunday night game.
The Falcons-Commanders game could also have huge playoff implications. If the Falcons beat the Giants in Week 16 and the Commanders lose to the Eagles, that would leave Atlanta just one game behind Washington in the NFC wild card standings with a chance to make up that game Sunday night in Week 17.
Week 17 of the NFL season will certainly be wild. Not only will there be a tripleheader on Saturday, but there will also be two games on Wednesdays and the NFL will play a doubleheader on Christmas with the Chiefs playing the Steelers and then the Ravens playing the Texans.
