Lions still a primetime option for Week 13

The Lions stock sunk a bit in the NFL office after Sunday’s loss to Chicago, but Detroit is still in the mix for an upgrade to primetime football when it faces the New Orleans Saints in Week 13.

The Lions December 4 matchup in New Orleans is among a select few being considered for NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast, according to a league source.

The three games being given the most consideration: Lions/Saints, Steelers/Bengals and Falcons/Texans.

The Steelers and Bengals played this past week, with Pittsburgh winning by a touchdown. The two teams are battling for first place in the AFC North.

The Texans are in first place in the AFC South, searching for the first playoff berth in franchise history. Houston is the 10th largest market in the country. The Falcons are an entertaining team that played in the playoffs last season.

Moving the Detroit/New Orleans game or the Atlanta/Houston game would leave FOX with a thin roster of 1pm games in Week 13 – only two games would remain for FOX to broadcast in the early window.

Also, FOX only airs two games per year from Houston, so moving the Falcons/Texans game would take away 50% of FOX’s local broadcast inventory from the country’s 10th largest market.

Could it be done? Sure. Would FOX Sports and its local affiliate in Houston be upset? You bet.

Moving the Steelers/Bengals game, which right now is the most likely scenario, raises some interesting flags:

1) The Steelers play Sunday, November 27 on Sunday Night Football against Kansas City. Flexing the Pittsburgh/Cincinnati game would result in two consecutive appearances by the Steelers on SNF. The December 4 appearance on SNF would be Pittsburgh’s fourth this season. They would not be eligible to play on SNF again.

2) The Steelers are scheduled to play Thursday, December 8 against Cleveland. The NFL attempts to avoid scheduling a team late Sunday night when they have to play four days later. Has it been done? Yes. The Jets play this Thursday in Denver after hosting the Patriots on Sunday Night Football.

With a win this Sunday against Carolina, the Lions would improve to 7-3 and their stock would once again be on the rise. An up-and-coming team with its sights set on its first playoff appearance in 12 years against a recent Super Bowl champion is an enticing matchup to broadcast nationally.

If the Lions lose to Carolina, they would be 1-4 in their last five games with a Thanksgiving Day matchup against Green Bay on the horizon.

Given that uncertainty, the ratings-reliable Steelers, pitted in a rematch against their surprising divisional rival Bengals might be a better bet for a national broadcast.

The NFL will announce what Week 13 game gets moved to Sunday Night Football either late next Sunday night, November 20 or Monday, November 21.