NFL has multiple decisions to make on Week 17 scheduling, soon

The 17th week of the 2024 season begins on a Wednesday, with a pair of Christmas games (Chiefs-Steelers, Ravens-Texans). That decision resulted in eight standalone games for the weekend. Given the clear separation between good and bad teams, there aren't a ton of great choices for the other slots.

The league already has decided to leave Seahawks-Bears on Thursday night. The Bears have been eliminated from playoff contention; Seattle is battling for the NFC West crown.

On Saturday, three games from a group of five possibilities will be played on NFL Network. The options are Broncos-Bengals, Cardinals-Rams, Chargers-Patriots, Colts-Giants, and Falcons-Commanders. It's our understanding that the three games will be selected for the Saturday shift on Tuesday.

Then comes Sunday night, where the Browns are due to host the Dolphins. The NFL quite possibly will decide to shift that game out, as well.

The week ends with a Monday night game between the Lions and 49ers.

Regardless of the amount of flexing done, it's hard to find much sizzle in the Week 17 post-Christmas schedule, and it's going to be virtually impossible for the NFL to fill all windows with consequential games. Packers-Vikings is the most compelling Sunday game, but it can't be moved from Fox because the first match between the division rivals was televised by CBS.

That's one of the basic risks of overloading standalone games. With eight in one weekend, they can’t all be winners, kid.

Of course, it won't matter if millions watch. Chances are, they will.

One, it's football. Two, it's on TV. Three, there are many football games left to watch this year.