Sunday Night Football flex of Dolphins vs Chargers was almost Bills vs Jets

Tuesday night included an announcement from the NFL of a change to the league’s Week 14 schedule, moving the Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers game from the late afternoon on Sunday, December 11 to the Sunday Night Football slot, replacing the Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos game. Dolphins-Chargers was not the first choice of NBC for the broadcast, according to a report. Instead, the company was looking to add the Buffalo Bills at New York Jets game in the primetime position, according to SNY TV’s Connor Hughes.

The Dolphins-Chargers game was ultimately moved because CBS blocked the Bills-Jets matchup, preferring to keep the AFC East division showdown on their broadcast schedule. The Bills (8-3) and Jets (7-4) are currently second and third in the division with Miami (8-3) leading the way. Miami travels to California this weekend to face the San Francisco 49ers, while the Bills face the New England Patriots (6-5) in another AFC East divisional showdown, this time on Thursday Night Football tomorrow night. The Jets are in Minneapolis this weekend to face the Minnesota Vikings.

The AFC East, with every team over .500 this season, will be a fascinating battle through the final six weeks of the season. Seeing broadcast companies fight to flex schedule the teams of the division is a huge difference from a few years ago when the AFC East, save for the Patriots, seemed to always be the division being flexed out of the spots.

It will also be interesting to see what happens to the Dolphins at Bills game in Week 15 if both teams continue to win and that contest becomes a de facto contest for the division title.