Getty The Cowboys square off against the Cardinals in Week 17.
The NFL has a revised schedule for the final two weeks of the season which means no Thursday Night Football game tonight, December 30. Instead, the NFL will have all their games on Sunday, January 2 with the exception of the Monday Night Football matchup between the Browns and Steelers.
There are plenty of college football alternatives for those looking to watch games on Thursday. The bowl schedule has four games on today’s slate with all four matchups being televised on ESPN.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl features a battle of the Carolinas as North Carolina takes on South Carolina at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. Next, the Music City Bowl has Tennessee squaring off against Purdue at 3 p.m. Eastern. No. 10 Michigan State matches up with No. 12 Pittsburgh in the marquee matchup of the day at 7 p.m. Eastern. Finally, Wisconsin takes on Arizona State at 10:30 p.m. in the Las Vegas Bowl.
No Thursday Night Games Gives NFL Teams an Equal Amount of Rest
Why is there no Thursday night games for the final two weeks of the NFL season? The decision is made likely to normalize the amount of rest each team gets heading into the postseason with the exception of the lone Monday night matchup between the Browns and Steelers.
Heading into Week 17, six teams have punched their ticket to the postseason leaving eight spots up for grabs in the final two weeks. The Packers, Buccaneers and Cowboys have clinched division titles while the Cardinals and Rams have also secured playoff berths in the NFC. Less is certain in the AFC where the Chiefs are the only team who have clinched a postseason spot.
The Bucs won the NFC South, something they were unable to do during their title run in 2020. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians emphasized the team aimed to “hang three banners” this time around.
“Yeah, we wanted to hang three banners this year, and we don’t have one of those division banners up there for a long time and it feels great,” Arians told reporters on December 26. “I mean, this is what we focused on, to win our division and our guys did it today and can’t be more prouder of the group that played today.”
NFL Week 17 Schedule: Sunday, January 2
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Football Team 1 p.m. Eastern Fox
L.A. Rams vs. Baltimore Ravens 1 p.m. Fox
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New York Jets 1 p.m. Fox
Miami Dolphins vs. Tennessee Titans 1 p.m. CBS
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots 1 p.m. CBS
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Indianpolis Colts 1 p.m. Fox
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals 1 p.m. CBS
New York Giants vs. Chicago Bears 1 p.m. CBS
Atlanta Falcons vs. Buffalo Bills 1 p.m. Fox
Houston Texans vs. San Francisco 49ers 4:05 p.m. CBS
Denver Broncos vs. Los Angeles Chargers 4:05 p.m. CBS
Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints 4:25 p.m. Fox
Detroit Lions vs. Seattle Seahawks 4:25 p.m. Fox
Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys 4:25 p.m. Fox
Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers 8:20 p.m. NBC
NFL Monday Night Football: Monday, January 3
Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 8:15 p.m. ESPN/ESPN2