NFL flexes Chiefs out of prime time -- will Patriots and Raiders be next?

BOSTON -- If there's one thing the NFL loves more than anything, it's putting star players on national TV. For the league to take a true superstar out of a prime-time slot typically requires something catastrophic to happen, such as an injury to that star player or an act of God.

Or, it just takes the Denver Broncos being really, really, spectacularly bad.

That was the case on Tuesday night, when the NFL announced that next week's Sunday night matchup between the Chiefs and Broncos has been flexed out of prime time. In doing so, the league figures it will be sparing America from having to watch Patrick Mahomes decimate Russell Wilson and the Broncos, thus leading to better TV ratings.

Instead, the NFL will slide the Dolphins-Chargers game into the nighttime slot on Sunday, with Chiefs-Broncos moving to 4:05 p.m. ET.

The move from the NFL prompts one question as it relates to New England: Will Week 15's Sunday night game between the Patriots and Raiders be flexed out of prime time as well?

The game was an obvious choice for prime time when the schedule was determined in the spring. Bill Belichick vs. Josh McDaniels, two playoff teams from last year, Mac Jones in year two, Davante Adams in silver and black -- the appeal was obvious.

Now through 12 weeks, though, it's not quite the bright-lights attraction that it looked like it would be.

The Raiders have been one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL, owners of a 4-7 record -- just one game better than the last-place Broncos. McDaniels' second head coaching gig isn't going much better than his first.

For the Patriots, with Matt Patricia running the offense, Jones has taken a major step backward in year two, and the Patriots sit at just 6-5 entering this week's game against Buffalo. The Patriots' offense showed up for prime time on Thanksgiving night, but that came after a game vs. the Jets in which they scored just three points all game before a punt return launched them to double digits on the scoreboard.

With some other compelling games on the NFL slate outside of prime time in Week 15 -- Dolphins-Bills, Ravens-Browns (with Deshaun Watson), Giants-Commanders, Titans-Chargers, Bengals-Buccaneers, even Cowboys-Jaguars, perhaps -- it's reasonable to wonder if the NFL might swap out Patriots-Raiders for something that has a better chance of generating the best rating. One matter complicating things is the fact that currently, five games have been tabbed as potential choices for a Saturday triple-header in Week 15. That would eliminate three potential choices to replace Patriots-Raiders on Sunday night. The NFL will surely want ratings all day and night on Saturday, too, so Dolphins-Bills, Giants-Commanders, and Ravens-Browns could be off the board for Sunday.

Nevertheless, this week's outcome figures to be important both for the Patriots and the Raiders in terms of their season outlook, but it also figures to be significant in whether or not they'll be playing on Sunday night in a few weeks.

The Patriots play the Bills in prime time on Thursday night this week (before playing the Cardinals in prime time on Monday Night Football next week). This week, the Raiders will host the Chargers.

The NFL will need to make a decision on the Week 15 Sunday night game by Tuesday of next week.