clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

NFL schedule 2015: Cardinals/Bengals flexed to Sunday Night Football

The Cardinals get another game on the national stage.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Arizona Cardinals are getting noticed. The NFL announced the November 22 game they play against the Cincinnati Bengals at home has been "flexed" to Sunday Night Football, getting picked up by NBC and now becoming a nationally televised game. It replaces the originally scheduled game between the 3-5 Kansas City Chiefs and the 2-6 San Diego Chargers.

The game was originally scheduled to air on CBS at a normal 4 PM Eastern start -- 2 PM locally here in Arizona.

The move makes it so the Cardinals will appear on Sunday Night Football two consecutive weeks. After they have their bye this week, they will play the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. They will be only the seventh team since Sunday Night Football began in 2006 to appear in consecutive weeks, and the first since 2013.

The change gives Arizona four prime time games, all within a seven-game span. They played on Monday Night Football in Week 7, will be on Sunday Night Football in Weeks 10 and 11 and they will also play at home on Thursday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14.

The game has intrigue. The Cardinals are 6-2 and the Bengals are now 7-0. Based on Week 11's set of games, it is the top matchup. But it will also be a matchup of the resurgent Carson Palmer against the team he supposedly quit on a few years back.

It is  possible the Cardinals get flexed later in the season. They close the season hosting the Green Bay Packers in Week 16, a game that could have playoff seeding implications, and they close the season hosting the Seattle Seahawks. They might not get flexed, but they are potential candidates later on.

Arizona last had a game flexed to Sunday night in 2009, when they were leading the NFC West with Kurt Warner and facing Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.

For those who already have tickets for the game, the only thing that changes is the time the game starts.