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:
“This is something that Robert Kraft has wanted…”
“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.”
LISTEN: Phil Perry on the Patriots being flexed out of MNF vs. the Chiefs
The Patriots can officially be eliminated from playoff contention this weekend
Eliminated from playoff contention
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 12: Bill Belichick, Head Coach of the New England Patriots, looks on prior to the NFL match between Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots at Deutsche Bank Park on November 12, 2023 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
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 BroncosEliminated from AFC East contention
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 29: DeShon Elliott #21 of the Miami Dolphins attempts to tackle Rhamondre Stevenson #38 of the New England Patriots during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on October 29, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
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.
