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Patriots-Colts, Raiders-Browns get Saturday NFL flex treatment, Broncos-Chiefs moved to prime time

The NFL made a schedule announcement for Week 15 on Tuesday with two games now slated for Saturday instead of Sunday.

The Cleveland Browns will host the Las Vegas Raiders at 4:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 18 followed by the New England Patriots visiting the Indianapolis Colts in prime time at 8:20 p.m. ET. Both games will air on NFL Network.

Broncos-Chiefs moved to primetime

Additionally, the Week 13 AFC West matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos on Dec. 5 has been flexed into the 6:20 p.m. ET NBC "Sunday Night Football" slot. It will replace the originally scheduled Sunday night game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks that will now be played at 4:25 p.m. ET.

Aug 19, 2021; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;  New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick with quarterback Mac Jones (10) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports - 16641417
Bill Belichick and Mac Jones have the Patriots riding a five-game win streak. (Eric Hartline/Reuters)

Week 15 will mark the first Saturday games of the NFL season alongside the end of the college football regular season. Both Saturday games project to have implications in the AFC playoff race.

The 6-5 Browns and 5-5 Raiders would both miss the playoffs if they started this week. But both teams are still vey much in the hunt with the 6-4 Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills holding the 5-7 positions in the playoff picture. The loser between the Browns and Raiders could end up facing a difficult path to the postseason.

The surging Colts are also 6-5 and on the outside looking in at the playoff race. They trail the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans (8-3) by two games and are a half-game back in the wild-card race. Behind burgeoning MVP candidate Jonathan Taylor, the Colts have been one of the league's hottest teams with five wins in six games including a 41-15 win over the Bills on Sunday.

The 7-4 Patriots, meanwhile, have taken control of the AFC East with a five-game win streak fueled by the emergence of rookie quarterback Mac Jones and a dominant defense that shut out the Atlanta Falcons and forced four turnovers in last week's 25-0 win.