Mile High Huddle

Sean Payton Believes Broncos-Bengals Game Will Be Flexed

The NFL could move Denver's Week 17 contest.

Zack Kelberman

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton reacts during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton reacts during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The Denver Broncos will face the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football this week due to the NFL previously flexing the game into prime time. And it may happen again.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Monday that he believes the Week 17 road contest against the Cincinnati Bengals — tentatively scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 29 — will be moved to Saturday, Dec. 28.

“Christmas is always the challenge in the NFL, period. All I wanted them to know is we think we’re playing the Bengals on a Saturday," Payton told reporters. "I don’t know if it’s been announced yet or not, but we’re just trying to manage the Thursday game and then the Saturday game so these guys can at least have answers for their wives. That was really the whole point of it. The focus obviously for us is this Thursday. For them with family traveling and whatnot… We’re basically going to next week create… Pretend Saturday is a Sunday and work backwards. Tuesday is going to be like a Wednesday for us, you guys. Wednesday will be like a Thursday. Thursday will be like a Friday, and Friday will be like a Saturday, and we’ll travel.”

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No matter when they kick off, this will be the 34th showdown in league history between the Broncos and Bengals, with the former holding a 22-11 all-time series lead. The clubs last met in 2021; Cincinnati won a squeaker, 15-10.

This year's iteration pits a 9-5 Broncos squad, one win away from clinching its first playoff berth since 2015, versus a 6-8 Bengals team that has only a 5.1% chance of making the postseason, per ESPN's Football Power Index.

An official announcement from the league regarding the date and time for the contest is expected Tuesday.

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Zack Kelberman
ZACK KELBERMAN

Zack Kelberman is the Senior Editor for Mile High Huddle. He has covered the NFL for more than a decade and the Denver Broncos since 2016. He's also the co-host of the wildly popular Broncos show the Mile High Huddle Podcast.

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