Perry: The Krafts “weren’t shocked” by Monday Night Football flex

The Patriots have officially become the first team to be flexed out of a Monday Night Football game after their Week 15 matchup with the Chiefs was moved from Monday to Sunday. Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston tells Zolak & Bertrand why Robert and Jonathan Kraft weren't necessarily shocked by the game being moved out of primetime:

"I've talked to a few people who would have some insight to this. And the first thing I would say is I don't believe The Krafts were shocked by this. And I don't believe they were flipping furniture over this either or chucking cell phones at the wall. They would have been informed that this was a possibility. They knew this was a possibility given where the team sits record-wise. And so to think that they were stunned is not my understanding of it. Now, of course it's not what you're looking for. You're 2-9 in the league and the league is the one that makes the final decision on this. The league has determined that they would rather not have the product that you have been putting out there on the field week to week on a national television scale. So that hurts.

"Now, I would say there is a silver lining to this, if you want to call it that if you're Robert, which I didn't consider ahead of time. But I think it's important to note-- he is the chair of the broadcast committee for the NFL. Great relationships with all of these network CEOs, heads of these networks that air all these games. So he has in the past, this past offseason specifically, pushed for more flexibility for the networks in flexing games, not just from Sunday to Sunday, but having even more flexibility than that and being able to go, as is the case here from Monday to Sunday or even Thursday to Sunday. And so there is an element of a league-wide benefit to having one of these games happen this year. It wasn't guaranteed to happen. But now you get the trial balloon. And I think this is sort of a perfect storm kind of game where if you're Robert Kraft and you're among the owners that were pushing for more flexibility for the networks and you want to continue to foster those relationships and you want to keep this thing going. There is a silver lining in that. Okay, let's just see how this goes.

"It is not a good situation to be bumped off of Monday Night Football because you're that bad. But from a league perspective, this is something that Robert Kraft has wanted and now he gets it. And if he didn't want this game to be flexed, what I've been told is it probably wouldn't have happened. Not that he asked for it. Not that he pushed for his team to get flexed out. But if he was kicking and screaming that his team was bumped off of Monday Night Football, it probably would not have happened."

With the team sitting at 2-9, nobody is thinking about a playoff run by this New England Patriots team. That's fair, but it is technically still a possibility - for now.

Technically, the Patriots haven't been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention just yet. However, that could happen as soon as this upcoming week, Week 13.

READ MORE:

--It looks like the Patriots have their Week 13 quarterback
--Patriots flexed out of upcoming primetime game
--Players, coaches discuss meaning of upcoming Army-Navy Game at Gillette Stadium

If they are eliminated, it would just be the third time in Bill Belichick's tenure with the Patriots that the team will play games without a playoff spot on the line. When they missed the playoffs in 2002, 2009 and last year in 2022, they weren't eliminated until the final day of the season.

In Belichick's first year in New England in 2000, the Patriots were eliminated in early December and ended up playing three more games after being mathematically eliminated. That wouldn't happen again for another two decades until the 2020 season, when the Patriots were out of playoff contention for the final two games of the year.

The Patriots also haven't been officially eliminated from winning the AFC East yet either. That could also come this week, even if they're not eliminated from the playoffs outright. Here are the scenarios to be aware of...

There are five scenarios this week in which the Patriots can be eliminated from playoff contention. In all five, the first two legs are the Patriots losing to the Chargers and the Steelers beating the Cardinals. After that, one of the following five things has to happen (some, of course, much more realistic than others)...

--Colts win/tie at Titans AND Browns win/tie at Rams
--Colts win/tie at Titans AND Bengals win at Jaguars AND Texans win at Broncos
--Colts win at Titans AND Bengals tie at Jaguars AND Texans win at Broncos
--Colts win at Titans AND Texans tie at Broncos
--Colts tie at Titans AND Bengals win/tie at Jaguars AND Texans tie at Broncos

Even if they're not eliminated from the playoffs outright, one of two things happening would officially guarantee the Patriots' fourth consecutive season without an AFC East title. If the Patriots lose or tie against the Chargers, and the Dolphins beat or tie the Commanders, the Patriots can no longer win their division.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.