If the Denver Broncos‘ 2021 schedule is any indication, the NFL obviously doesn’t have high expectations of the team acquiring league MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers. If Rodgers were to be traded to the Denver Broncos tomorrow, he would only be playing in one prime-time television game — a Thursday Night Football matchup in Cleveland against the Browns.
Denver Broncos 2021 schedule
Week 1 – 9/12: @ NY Giants – 4:25 ET on FOX
Week 2 – 9/19: @ Jaguars – 1:00 ET on CBS
Week 3 – 9/26: vs. NY Jets – 2:05 MT on CBS
Week 4 – 10/3: vs. Ravens – 2:25 PM MT on CBS
Week 5 – 10/10: @ Steelers – 1:00 ET on FOX
Week 6 – 10/17: vs. Raiders – 2:25 MT on CBS
Week 7 – 10/21: @ Browns – 8:20 ET on FOX/NFLN/Amazon
Week 8 – 10/31: vs. WFT – 2:25 MT on FOX
Week 9 – 11/7: @ Cowboys – 12:00 CT on FOX
Week 10 – 11/14: vs. Eagles – 2:25 MT on CBS
Week 11 – BYE
Week 12 – 11/28 vs. Chargers – 2:05 MT on CBS
Week 13 – 12/5 @ Chiefs – 12:00 CT on CBS
Week 14 – 12/12 vs. Lions – 2:05 MT on FOX
Week 15 – 12/19 vs. Bengals – 2:05 MT on CBS
Week 16 – 12/26 @ Raiders – 1:25 PST on CBS
Week 17 – 1/2 @ Chargers – 1:05 PST on CBS
Week 18 – 1/9 vs. Chiefs – 2:25 MT on CBS
Any game scheduled for the late-afternoon slots after week 11 is eligible for the NFL’s flex scheduling, which means that every game after the bye week except for the Broncos’ road matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs is eligible to be flexed into a prime-time (Saturday or Sunday Night Football) slot.
Despite not having more than one game in prime time and breaking a historic 29-year streak on Monday Night Football, the Denver Broncos will have plenty of games with a national audience. Still, it stings quite a bit to be left out of the initial plans for prime-time games knowing the reason is a lack of team success since Super Bowl 50.
Considering each week offers at least three opportunities for prime-time matchups, and there are now 18 weeks in a season, the Broncos got just one game out of at least 51 such games from the league.
That hurts.
Aaron Rodgers’ presence would more than likely change that and the NFL would be eligible to flex a number of those games beyond the week 11 bye week into the nighttime slots.
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For now, the league has made it clear — until the Denver Broncos have stability at quarterback actually in the fold, they are not getting any prime-time TV handouts.