Ravens Insider: NFL decision looms to ‘flex’ Ravens’ New Year’s Eve game vs. Dolphins

[ExtremeRavens]

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott made it clear how he feels about the Ravens’ game against the Miami Dolphins at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 31 and what time he would like it to be played.

“I’ve told any and everybody that we want it on @SNFonNBC because that’s where it belongs!” Scott posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday in response to a claim that Scott and Police Commissioner Richard Worley approached the team and the league about keeping the game in the afternoon because of security concerns. “While they’re at it, they can go ahead flex the final game against [Pittsburgh] too. We want the smoke!”

When could a decision be made? The NFL has until six days before the game to make the change, which means an announcement would come, at the latest, after the Ravens-San Francisco 49ers game on Monday night.

Currently, the Ravens (11-3) and Dolphins (10-4) have the top two records in the AFC and are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. The Week 17 game could be for the coveted top seed in the conference, which comes with the first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

That also makes it a lot more appealing than the current Sunday night game that week: the 7-7 Vikings versus the 6-8 Green Bay Packers in Minnesota. However, CBS, which will carry the Ravens game, has the option to protect it should the NFL want to flex Baltimore’s game to prime time on NBC.

Moving the game to Sunday night would present some complications, though. Notably, it would coincide with the city’s New Year’s Eve festivities that are slated to begin at 8 p.m. with live music at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater and conclude with a fireworks and drone show.

Another possibility is the Ravens-Dolphins game being flexed to 4:25 p.m., which would allow the end of it to spill into prime time on CBS.

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