Quote:The Bengals-Steelers game was flexed to Sunday Night on NBC.   Hence,  CBS lost arguably their best game on their Week # 17 slate.    Hence,  the NFL wanted to give CBS something back that has playoff ramifications.   With the 4:25pm slot on CBS previously only having the Raiders-Broncos game,  the Panthers-Falcons game should significantly increase CBS' ratings in the late afternoon time slot.  Especially in sizeable parts of the Southeastern portion of the U.S.   Even though both teams will finish under .500,   the game has win or go home ramifications.   

 

Also, the Falcons-Panthers game is the only head-to-head elimination game of the weekend.  The NFL wants as many households getting this type of game as possible since it is essentially a playoff game.  I would expect most of the country to see this game on CBS instead of the Raiders-Broncos game.  In my opinion, the Falcons-Panthers game would have been a better choice for Sunday night because of the elimination factor, though I know that prime time Steelers games are likely a better draw nationally.

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