# Three NFL teams can make six primetime appearances. Which ones are they and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 16, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982 "2013-09-16T16:27:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/1 "2013-09-16T16:27:42Z")
I spotted this on the Rams website: > [@](#): > > Q. Is there any limit on the number of primetime appearances a team can make in one season? > A. Yes, 29 of the 32 teams can appear a maximum of five times in primetime games each season, with just three teams potentially playing a sixth game in primetime. The same line is on the Wikipedia for NFL on TV, but the teams aren’t listed and the cite is broken. Anyone know what the 3 teams are? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/2 "2013-09-16T17:07:19Z")
Interesting, I wonder if these 3 special teams are the same every year or if they are rotating based on the quirks of the schedule. Wonder if they are hand picked at the start of the year based on profile/performance or if there’s a logistical issue that causes this. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/3 "2013-09-16T20:07:58Z")
It’s not the same teams year to year. It’s just the way the schedule works out due to the flexible scheduling at the end of the season - three teams will have played five times on prime time already and will have the potential to be flexed into that final game. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/4 "2013-09-16T20:30:29Z")
Something doesn’t jibe, though it might just be poor sentence structure. The answer from the OP makes it seem like there are ALWAYS EXACTLY 3 teams with the potential for a 6th game. The ability to flex games makes for a logical explanation for why this is, but I don’t think that if that were the case that the numbers would be the same every year. In some years there’d be no teams with the ability to be flexed into a 6th game, and unless there’s another rule I’m unaware of it seems unlikely that there are always 3 teams who have played 5 primetime games prior to the flex period. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/5 "2013-09-16T20:34:16Z")
The Lions and the Cowboys traditionally play on Thanksgiving afternoon/evening. I wonder if part of that arrangement is that they still be eligible for five more prime time games. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/6 "2013-09-16T20:38:44Z")
[This article](http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000161651/article/peyton-manning-denver-broncos-in-primetime-club) (from April 2013) at [NFL.com](http://NFL.com) gives a little more detail. > [@](#): > > With NFL Network’s “Thursday Night Football” schedule being extended in 2012, every NFL team is guaranteed at least one prime-time appearance. The maximum a team can be scheduled is five times, although that number can go up one game depending on flex scheduling late in the season. How many times a team is scheduled for prime time is a nice, clean look at the NFL. > > These are the teams the NFL wants to sell. They are the teams that get television ratings and/or play games that matter. Here’s a rundown of how many prime-time games each team will play in 2013: [ul] [li] **5:** Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins[/li][li] **4:** Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks[/li][li]\*\*3: \*\*Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings [/li][li] **2:** New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers[/li][li] **1:** Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions [/li][/ul]It’s still not clear where the “maximum of 3 teams” that can be flex-scheduled to six comes from. The article doesn’t say: is it implicit that a team cannot be flexed _out_ of its only prime-time appearance? I haven’t checked the schedule - are all of those “one-timers’” games in the early part of the season, before flex scheduling kicks in? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/7 "2013-09-16T20:45:40Z")
> [@brad\_d](#): > > [This article](http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000161651/article/peyton-manning-denver-broncos-in-primetime-club) (from April 2013) at [NFL.com](http://NFL.com) gives a little more detail.[ul] > [li] **5:** Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins[/li][li] **4:** Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks[/li][li]\*\*3: \*\*Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings [/li][li] **2:** New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers[/li][li] **1:** Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions [/li][/ul]It’s still not clear where the “maximum of 3 teams” that can be flex-scheduled to six comes from. > > The article doesn’t say: is it implicit that a team cannot be flexed _out_ of its only prime-time appearance? I haven’t checked the schedule - are all of those “one-timers’” games in the early part of the season, before flex scheduling kicks in? Flex scheduling only applies to Sunday games. I think most of the one-timers are all Thursday games, so they can’t be flexed out of it. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/8 "2013-09-16T20:48:05Z")
The 2013 NFL Prime-time schedule can be viewed in its entirety [here](http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2013/04/19/Media/NFL-Schedule-Media.aspx?hl=Buffalo+Bills&sc=0). I’ve not checked to see that it gibes with the list I posted earlier. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/9 "2013-09-16T20:52:18Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Flex scheduling only applies to Sunday games. I think most of the one-timers are all Thursday games, so they can’t be flexed out of it. That would do it. 🙂 It appears that all of the one-timers except Oakland and Detroit have their games on the NFL Network (i.e., Thursday night). The Raiders and the Lions both appear on Monday night (weeks 3 and 15, respectively). As you point out, none of those games are subject to being flexed. ---
**Author:** ![Dellsey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dellsey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dellsey)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/10 "2015-11-27T15:46:49Z")
I’m not certain, but I’d bet there are three teams that already have 5 scheduled prime time games. All games week 17 may be moved to Sunday night no matter what, so perhaps those are the three teams that could play 6? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2015, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-nfl-teams-can-make-six-primetime-appearances-which-ones-are-they-and-why/668982/11 "2015-11-28T07:03:03Z")
> [@Dellsey](#): > > I’m not certain, but I’d bet there are three teams that already have 5 scheduled prime time games. All games week 17 may be moved to Sunday night no matter what, so perhaps those are the three teams that could play 6? No, I believe there is currently no prime time game at all in week 17. The final Thursday and Monday night games are in week 16. The last game in week 17 ends by around 5:30~6pm PST that week. 13 games start at 1pm EST, 3 games 3 and a half hours later. I think they do this to equalize the interval to the first playoff round.