In a move that is not all that surprising, the NFL announced on Monday that the San Francisco 49ers Week 15 Sunday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals has been flexed out. The game will now air at 1:25 p.m. PT on CBS. The Arizona Cardinals matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles has been flexed into the spot.
The Week 15 Sunday afternoon schedule now includes three CBS games. 49ers-Bengals, Broncos-Steelers and Dolphins-Chargers will all broadcast at 1:25 p.m. PT. Broncos-Steelers was protected by CBS, thus the reason it was not flexed into SNF. My guess is that will be the national game, and 49ers-Bengals will be primarily a regional broadcast. What is particularly interesting is that this game will now broadcast at the same time as the Raiders home game against the Packers on FOX. That is a rarity.
If the Eagles had not beaten the New England Patriots yesterday, I imagine the NFL still would have found another option. I don't think anybody expected the 49ers game to remain in primetime. And so, those of us outside the Bay Area (and Cincinnati) will be left scrambling for viewing options. Such is life.