Redskins-Ravens Game Becomes NBC's First Flex Move of the Season

The Dec. 7 game between the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens has been flexed into the Sunday Night game on NBC. The game will be moved from 1 PM ET to 8:15 PM ET.

It takes the place of the previously scheduled Patriots-Seahawks game, which now moves to 4:05 PM ET on CBS.

The Redskins-Ravens game is big on several fronts. First off, both are in the middle of a playoff chase in their respective conferences. The Redskins are 7-4 and are hanging onto the NFC's final wildcard berth. The Ravens are also 7-4 and are hanging onto the AFC's final wildcard berth, making the Battle Of the Beltway relevant again.

It also pits Jim Zorn and John Harbaugh; two of the three rookie coaches having an outstanding first season.

This is NBC's first use of the flex rule this season. The network has the right to switch their game times during Weeks 11 through 17 just as long as the team doesn't appear on NBC more than four times. CBS and FOX have submitted their five games that NBC cannot touch (which are unknown to the public) during those weeks.NBC most likely won't flex their Week 15 game between the Giants and Cowboys. They could move their Week 16 game between the Buccaneers and Chargers and take either the Steelers-Titans, Cardinals-Patriots or Panthers-Giants.

Neither CBS or Fox can protect Week 17 games. NBC will try to get a game that has playoff implications.

This all could be bad news for the Redskins. In their three previous night games (two of which were televised by NBC), the Redskins are 0-3.