Cowboys/Vikings Won’t Play on SNF After All
With the NFL now transitioning into a “flexing schedule” following the NFL trade deadline, one of the teams on the radar for these “flexed” games has been the Minnesota Vikings. In particular, the Week 11 game between the 6-2 Dallas Cowboys and now 7-1 Minnesota Vikings had been theorized as a potential suitor to be flexed to Sunday Night Football.
The purpose of the “flexing schedule” is to ensure that primetime games remain as entertaining as possible moving into the second half of the season. If teams that are slated to play on Sunday Night Football but are underperforming, the game can be swapped for a more intriguing matchup.
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Week 11’s game between Dallas and Minnesota drew interest because of the playoff implications with that game. Additionally, the original SNF game scheduled the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. While this is a division rivalry game, the Steelers have not had a successful 2022 season, starting with a 2-6 record.
However, it appears the NFL found a better game for that week because the Cowboys/Vikings game won’t be featured on SNF in Week 11 after all. Instead, the primetime matchup will feature the 6-2 Kansas City Chiefs taking on the 5-3 Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Meanwhile, the Bengals and Steelers will now play in the 3:25 PM CST slot.
Ultimately, this decision makes a lot of sense for the NFL. Both the Cowboys and Vikings play on Thanksgiving, just four days after the Sunday slate of Week 11. It may only be an extra few hours, but any rest these teams can get to prepare for Thanksgiving is beneficial.
The Cowboys are scheduled to take on the New York Giants at 3:30 PM CST on Thanksgiving. After that game, the Vikings host the New England Patriots at 7:20 PM CST.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
