The Denver Broncos currently hold the 7th overall spot in the AFC playoff race with just a handful of games left to be played this season. The stakes are being raised every single week and thanks to the Broncos exceeding expectations this year, the NFL has taken notice.
In the history of Thursday Night Football, the NFL has never utilized the ability to "flex" a matchup into that particular slot. In other words, whatever games have been on the schedule for Thursday night have stayed in those slots through the years...Until this year.
The Broncos have been good enough to get their Week 16 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers flexed into a primetime slot, moving from a Sunday afternoon affair on December 22 to a Thursday night bout on December 19. The Broncos being flexed into that primetime slot is not only a huge sign of respect from the NFL but it's also a tremendous show of confidence from head coach Sean Payton in his rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
Sean Payton believes big-time in his rookie QB Bo Nix
Because the Broncos have already played a Thursday night game on the road (@ New Orleans earlier this season), they are required to consent to play another road Thursday night game. Although Sean Payton said that his perspective is just, "Tell us when we're playing," it feels as though there's a little bit more strategy to this on the Broncos' part.
Putting your young team with a rookie quarterback in a position of playing on a short week that could determine a playoff spot or shift playoff standings for both the Broncos and Chargers is a huge show of confidence from a head coach to the quarterback.
The Broncos have their bye week in Week 14. They play the Indianapolis Colts -- in Denver -- in Week 15. They follow that up with a matchup against the Chargers in Los Angeles just four days later. Although there has been some outrage out there about it, the Broncos' decision to shift to playing the Chargers on Thursday instead of Sunday is fascinating.
The stakes of that Chargers game could be absolutely massive. But on top of that, the Broncos' decision to say "yes" to playing the Chargers on Thursday means that the Bengals will no longer be playing on Thursday in Week 16. The Bengals would have previously had a "mini bye" before playing the Broncos in Week 17 and the Broncos have now willingly flipped that script.
The Broncos will have a short week against an opponent they have already prepared for this season and they will now have additional rest time to prepare for the Bengals in what could also be a pivotal Week 17 matchup.
If you're Sean Payton and the Broncos, you maintain the status quo if you're any bit uncertain about Nix's ability to adapt to such a substantially adjusted schedule. I view this as a tremendous vote of confidence in Nix to come out of the bye week and give him two games in four days against two playoff hopefuls in the AFC.
There's nothing like trial by fire in the NFL, right?