The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun the roughest part of their schedule, beating the Baltimore Ravens in their first divisional game. The Ravens are the Steelers’ greatest threat to the AFC North crown, but the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals won’t be pushovers when they play them. For those fans who didn’t love all the night games throughout the first half of the Steelers’ schedule, you’ll be happy to hear the Steelers won’t be flexed into Monday Night Football against the Bengals in Week 13.
As NFL Nerd on Twitter made apparent, the deadline for Week 13 games to be flexed has passed. That means the game between the Steelers and Bengals will stay where it’s at in the early window at 1:00 EST—good news for those who have to wake up early the following day.
The Monday night game that week is between the Browns and the Denver Broncos, which isn’t the most exciting matchup. The Broncos are fighting for a playoff spot, but the Browns are near the bottom of the league. Seeing the Bengals’ high-powered offense try to outmaneuver the Steelers’ elite defense would likely be more exciting.
This isn’t the first bullet the Steelers have dodged when it comes to flexing games this year. Earlier this year, it seemed like their first matchup against the Ravens could be flexed, but a clause between networks prevented that.
The Steelers have been one of the best teams in the NFL this year, so it would make sense if the league wanted to get them into more primetime spots. They had three primetime spots through the first eight weeks of the season. At the moment, this coming week represents their final night game of the year.
That could still change, though. There’s no telling what games will get flexed as the year progresses. The Steelers have several quality opponents left. Perhaps their final game of the season, also against the Bengals, will end up in primetime.
Either way, the Steelers have made it clear that they don’t care how their schedule is set up. All they’re focused on is winning the next game. Whether they played the Bengals on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, or even Wednesday, Tomlin was going to have his team prepared. It is nice not to have to deal with all the stress of the game late at night.
