The Pittsburgh Steelers are less than two weeks away from their in-state matchup on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles... and this matchup already got a demotion by the National Football League.
On Monday, the NFL officially flexed the Steelers-Eagles Week 11 contest on Sunday, November 22, from 4:25 pm ET to a 1:00 pm kickoff. CBS is moving this once-anticipated Pennsylvania brawl to the crowded early window in favor of what will not be a more desirable late-afternoon matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Giants.
And with that, the NFL just showed us what they think of the Steelers-Eagles game.
The Steelers-Eagles game is no longer a matchup football fans are dying to see
This is less the fault of the Steelers and more the Eagles' fault. Entering Week 10 and coming off their bye, Mike McCarthy's team sits on a 6-2 record, atop the AFC North. Philadelphia, however, has plummeted to the bottom of the NFC East with a 2-7 record after losing their seventh straight game on Sunday.
The league's decision makes perfect sense, but it still stings a bit.
Instead of watching the Steelers attempt to grind out a win against a third-string quarterback on a tanking Eagles team, the league favored the Jaguars-Giants matchup that features one legitimate AFC contender and the likely NFC East champion this year.
The Jaguars are a legitimately good football team this year. Head coach Liam Coen has done great things since taking over the coaching staff last season. Meanwhile, quarterback Trevor Lawrence is playing the best football of his career.
The Giants aren't as convincing. New York is down to its third option at quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, and they are doing just enough to get by.
Still, this will almost certainly make for a more intriguing matchup than what the Steelers-Eagles game will offer this year. In the late-afternoon window, CBS will only be competing with two other games going on: Jets at Rams and Raiders at Broncos. The Jags-Giants contest will likely fetch the most views during this time.
This is the first time a Steelers game has been flexed this season, but it may not be the last. Their second-half schedule includes a handful of undesirable showings.
For instance, the Steelers are scheduled to host the now 3-5 Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football in Week 13. However, if the Texans lose another game or two between now and then, the NFL could flex Pittsburgh out of SNF for a more desirable matchup.
According to league rules, the NFL can utilize flex scheduling as needed, with no specific limitations on the number of changes from Weeks 11-17. The SNF matchup against the Texans falls firmly into this range of the season.
The Steelers also have two games late in the year with game times to be decided—meaning they will be flexed based on how the NFL views these matchups. Considering these are home games against the Panthers in Week 16 and on the road against the Ravens in Week 18, it may already be safe to pencil these games in as 1:00 p.m. kickoffs.
Nobody said life was fair, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are learning that the hard way. Regardless, this team is more than used to early-afternoon kickoffs, so the NFL's decision to flex their Week 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles shouldn't change anything.
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