Bengals vs. Chargers Flexed to SNF in NFL Week 11; Replaces Colts vs. Rodgers, Jets

The NFL and NBC have flexed the matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers to Sunday Night Football on Nov. 17 (Week 11), replacing the Indianapolis Colts vs. New York Jets.

That doesn't come as a huge surprise—the Bengals (4-5) have won three of their past four games behind Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chaswe and the team's exciting offense, while the Chargers are a solid 5-3 on the season. Meanwhile, both the Colts (4-5) and Jets (3-6) currently have losing records.

NBC and Sunday Night Football had the ability to flex games twice between Weeks 5-10, while the NFL can flex games between Weeks 11-17 at its own discretion. Fox likely advocated to keep either a huge NFC North matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears or the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers on its network, while CBS likely wanted to keep the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.

As for the Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens are playing on Thursday Night Football in Week 10 and Monday Night Football in Week 12—and the Steelers play Thursday Night Football in Week 12—so the NFL possibly opted to keep Baltimore from playing three primetime games in a row and the Steelers from having an especially short week.

The Ravens also already have five primetime games on the schedule for the 2024 season, as do the Chiefs and Bills, while the 49ers already have six.

CBS and Fox can protect one game per week, while there are a minimum number of conference games that must be broadcast on each network throughout the season, which also may have played a part in Week 11's particular flex decision.

Regardless, a primetime matchup between Burrow and Justin Herbert is appealing, with both teams fighting for playoff position midway through the 2024 season.