Starting in 2006, when Sunday Night Football moved from cable to broadcast, the NFL began utilizing the ability to slide bad games away from the big platform, replacing them with more compelling matchups. The flex scheduling concept has more recently spread to other prime-time windows, with Thursday night and Monday nights now in the mix.

Setting aside the fact that flexing games not by hours but by days creates logistical issues and potential expenses for fans traveling to games, if the league is going to prioritize harvesting large audiences over in-stadium fan convenience, there’s more work to be done.

Specifically, the Thursday/Monday flexing needs to begin earlier.

For Monday games, flexing is available from Weeks 12 through 17 (with 12 days notice). For Thursday games, it’s avai

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