The Minnesota Vikings game versus the Green Bay Packers in Week 17 will remain in primetime, the NFL has announced, choosing not to move the game to a more appealing time slot. This is hardly shocking considering that the Vikings are still very much in the running for both the NFC North championship and the NFC playoff spot.
This game is an intriguing matchup that should do well for the NFL in that slot since the Packers could act as a spoiler in the Vikings’ quest for the NFC North championship.
The NFL began flex scheduling Sunday Night Football games in 2006. This season, they have added Thursday Night and Monday Night Football games to their schedule in an attempt to place the most fascinating — and viewer-pleasing — games in its primetime slots.
Sunday Night Football flex scheduling begins in Week 5 and allows for a total of two flex games between Weeks 5 and 10. The league is free to flex any matchup for any number of weeks starting in Week 11.
It makes sense to keep the Vikings in primetime since they are in charge of their own fate in the NFC North and must prevail in order to win the division. With two games remaining in the final three versus the Detroit Lions, Minnesota is currently two games behind them. In those attempts, the Packers will have the opportunity to play spoiler, and a victory might put them in the NFC postseason position as well.
The Packers are now one game behind the Vikings in the NFC North standings, although they are presently ranked 11th in the NFC. They would require assistance because they had already lost to Minnesota and split the series with Detroit this season.
The Vikings/Packers rivalry, which is among the strongest in the league, combined with this intrigue should be more than enough to attract in viewers for the league.
