The NFL announced on Monday afternoon that the Week 15 matchup between the Patriots and Raiders will no longer be played in front of a national television audience on Sunday Night Football on NBC and will instead be flexed back to a 4:05pm EST kickoff on Sunday, December 18, 2022. In their place, the Commanders and Giants will meet in the national game on Sunday night in a battle for the NFC East, while the NFL also enhanced a slate of Saturday's games with a tripleheader that culminates with Dolphins at Bills at 8:15pm on NFL Network.
After playing three nationally televised games in a row, the Patriots will get a slight reprieve from the intensive schedule and attention, though their travel plans to remain in Arizona in between their matchups against the Cardinals and Raiders are likely to remain unchanged.
New England is 6-6 while the Raiders are 5-7 with a current three-game winning streak. Both teams are very much alive in the AFC playoff race, likely vying for the seventh and final spot in the conference and this still figures to be a critical game for both teams.
The Patriots face the Cardinals on Monday Night Football this week, while the Raiders travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams.
The updated schedule for Week 15 is as follows:
Thursday, December 15, 2022
- San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks, 8:15 PM Prime Video
Saturday, December 17, 2022
- Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings, 1:00 PM NFLN
- Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns, 4:30 PM NFLN
- Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills, 8:15 PM NFLN
Sunday, December 18, 2022
- Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints, 1:00 PM FOX
- Pittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers, 1:00 PM CBS
- Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears, 1:00 PM FOX
- Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans, 1:00 PM CBS
- Dallas Cowboys at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1:00 PM FOX
- Detroit Lions at New York Jets, 1:00 PM CBS
- Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos, 4:05 PM FOX
- New England Patriots at Las Vegas Raiders, 4:05 PM FOX
- Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:25 PM CBS
- Cincinnati Bengals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4:25 PM CBS
- New York Giants at Washington Commanders, 8:20 PM NBC
Monday, December 19, 2022
- Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers, 8:15 PM ESPN
