In the blink of an eye, the NFL season is in its final week of the year. As fast as it has flown by, many teams in the league and their fans are set to see their team take the field for the final time this year. Other teams have one more shot at getting into the dance and will provide fans with tons of drama in the action-packed slate of games.
With that, we have become accustomed to seeing Thursday Night Football tonight played on prime time every week throughout the year. However, with so much uncertainty for teams across the league, some may need a refresher on what this week’s NFL schedule will look like. Here’s what you need to know.
Is There Thursday Night Football Tonight?
The short answer is no. The NFL will not have a Thursday night matchup in Week 18. Last week’s Cleveland Browns date with the New York Jets was the last of its kind for this season.
Week 18 will feature all 32 teams playing all 16 games throughout the weekend — with two of the 16 matchups being played on Saturday.
The reason for the scheduling change is that it allows the NFL to schedule the marquee matchups throughout the weekend as they see fit.
With that, a lot of the action for the early slate of games features teams who do not have anything to play for or have been outright eliminated from playoff contention.
NFL Week 18 Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 6
- Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
4:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN
- Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts
8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN
Sunday, Jan. 7
Early Slate
- Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
1 p.m. ET, FOX
- Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals
1 p.m. ET, CBS
- Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans
1 p.m. ET, CBS
- Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
1 p.m. ET, FOX
- New York Jets at New England Patriots
1 p.m. ET, FOX
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers
1 p.m. ET, FOX
Late Afternoon Slate
- Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
- Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
- Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers
4:25 p.m. ET, CBS
- Denver Broncos at Las Vegas Raiders
4:25 p.m ET, CBS
- Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
4:25 p.m. ET, CBS
- Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers
4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
- Dallas Cowboys at Washington Commanders
4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
Prime-Time Matchup
- Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
NFL Scheduling With a Purpose
At the end of the day, what matters most to the NFL is money and viewership. People watching is what they want and, as a result, the league will schedule games at the same time as the games teams may be interested in to not change their strategy or product.
For example, the Dallas Cowboys would secure the NFC East with a win on Sunday against the Washington Commanders. However, the Philadelphia Eagles can also win the division with a victory of their own over the New York Giants, plus a Cowboys loss.
MORE: PFN’s FREE Playoff Predictor
Both will play their games at 4:25 p.m. ET to not give either team an advantage over the other, forcing both teams to decide on their effort and strategy without the benefit of knowing the other’s outcome.
Decisions like this are made throughout the week. The NFL does what it can to ensure that the games we get in primetime are the ones worth watching.
Another example is the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills game. This game will be a stand-alone Sunday Night Football matchup as the winner will take home the AFC East crown.
There is also a chance that with a loss the Bills could miss the playoffs completely. With that element in play, coupled with the division rivalry, it made for a perfect final game of the NFL regular season.
While we all would agree that not having Thursday Night Football tonight is something that feels unright and a void in our routine, it’s all for the greater good to allow us to have the best slate of action we possibly can as we say goodbye to another NFL regular season.
Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!