The Week 16 AFC North showdown between the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers has been flexed out of its original primetime national television spot.
Initially planned as an NBC Sunday Night Football matchup, the game will now kick off at 1 p.m. at M&T Bank Stadium and will air on CBS.
It marks the second time in three weeks that Baltimore has been bumped from Sunday Night Football. The other game to get flexed out of primetime was last week's meeting with the Seattle Seahawks.
The league’s move means the Ravens will not have a night home game this season. There was just one last season (Week 2 vs. Steelers).
The league announced Monday afternoon that the Ravens-Steelers’ timeslot was contingent upon the result of Monday night’s New York Giants and Miami Dolphins game. With New York’s 31-24 victory, the Giants remain tied for the lead in the NFC East and in playoff contention. As such, their Week 16 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings will instead be played at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 27.
Considering the Ravens’ 4-9 record, their elimination from playoffs, mounting injuries to star players and their blowout loss to Seattle on Sunday, the fact the NFL was still considering them for primetime speaks volumes about their rivalry with the Steelers.
