The NFL recently approved flex scheduling for Thursday Night Football on a trial basis for the 2023 season. The league can flex up to two games between Weeks 13 and 17 from Sunday afternoon to Thursday night. If no games are flexed, the trial will roll over to the 2024 season.
The Jets already have a Thursday game in that period, Week 17 in Cleveland. Could the Jets land a second Thursday game thanks to flex scheduling? Let’s rank the four other games in this window to see what games could potentially get moved.
4
Week 14 vs. Houston Texans
This really isn’t close. Even with a solid draft, including the big splashes for QB C.J. Stroud and Edge Will Anderson, the Texans are still going to be pretty bad this season. There’s a reason only one of their games is at a time other than 1:00 and that’s a 4:05 kickoff against the Broncos the week before they visit the Jets. There’s just about a 0% chance this game gets flexed, especially if it’s replacing Patriots-Steelers. See you at 1:00 on December 10, Houston.
Current Week 14 Thursday game: Patriots at Steelers
3
Week 13 vs. Atlanta Falcons
Even with questions at the quarterback position, the Falcons have been competitive under Arthur Smith and could sneak into contention in the NFC South. However, with the league needing a month in advance, we’ll know by Week 9 if this game is getting flexed, so it will be a little tough to judge if the Falcons are ready to play their way into primetime, especially considering they don’t currently have a single primetime game schedule. That, plus the games that are already scheduled for the current weeks for Jets-Falcons and Jets-Commanders play a factor as well. It’s more likely the league will flex out Saints-Rams than they would Seahawks-Cowboys.
Current Week 13 Thursday game: Seahawks at Cowboys
2
Week 16 vs. Washington Commanders
The Commanders have a good roster, but they have major questions at the quarterback position with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett and head coach Ron Rivera’s seat could be warming up. Washington did find a way to reach .500 last season with an 8-8-1 record (it only took two years of the 17-game schedule for a team to accomplish that feat). What gives Jets-Commanders a slightly better chance than Jets-Falcons, as mentioned before, is the games already in the Thursday slots here. The league almost certainly won’t take the Cowboys out of primetime, especially in a good matchup with the Seahawks. Saints-Rams, on the other hand, could be vulnerable. So the slight edge goes to the Jets’ home date with the Commanders.
Current Week 16 Thursday game: Saints at Rams
1
Week 15 at Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are by far the best team among the four in this group. And this late in the season, this game should have huge playoff implications. Would the league put both Jets-Dolphins games on Amazon? The first meeting in Week 12 is also on Amazon on Black Friday. Regardless, if a Jets game is going to get flexed to Thursday, it will be this one.
Current Week 15 Thursday game: Chargers at Raiders
