Broncos-Bengals Week 17 Tilt Flexed to Saturday by NFL

The Denver Broncos will play in their fourth "stand-alone" game of 2024.

Dec 9, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws a pass against the Dallas Cowboys in the first quarter at AT&T Stadium. / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

The NFL has flexed the Denver Broncos' Week 17 road tilt vs. the Cincinnati Bengals to Saturday, December 28. Kickoff will be at 2:30 pm MDT.

Mark your calendars. ✍️#DENvsCIN will kick off at 2:30pm MT on Saturday, Dec. 28.

📰 » https://t.co/ulQkeKR44a pic.twitter.com/laurNbkLgI

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 17, 2024

Broncos head coach Sean Payton had a feeling the NFL would flex the Bengals game, and like many of his gut intuitions, it proved to be true. This week, the Broncos will take on the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football in a game that was flexed into primetime by the NFL weeks ago.

It's a sign that the Broncos have retaken their place among the NFL's most valuable commodities, and it represents a huge opportunity for individual players to ply their wares to a national audience. Primetime exposure is huge for players making a Pro Bowl vid because fan voting makes up one-third of the tally.

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That bodes well for players like Broncos rush linebacker Nik Bonitto, who's not only trying to secure a Pro Bowl nod, but also make a late push for Defensive Player of the Year. There are others, too, to whom the limelight could be fortuitous, like right guard Quinn Meinerz, left tackle Garett Bolles, wide receiver Courtland Sutton, and especially rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

As for the Bengals game, it's not actually primetime, but it's a "stand-alone" game, meaning that it'll be the only NFL game being broadcast across the nation at the time. The game will be carried by NFL Network.

It gives the Broncos one less day to prepare for the Bengals, but that's okay, because the 10-day stretch between Thursday night and Sunday is a "mini-bye" anyway, and nine days is still more than teams get on a typical week.

A win over the Chargers would clinch a playoff berth for the Broncos. And if the Broncos want to maintain the best possible playoff seeding, they'll need to handle business in Cincinnati as well.

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