Storm- News » With the Garoppolo-less 49ers due to play in prime

time once again in Week 13 Womens Travis Benjamin Jersey , the NFL knew that it needed to activate the flex option. The only problem? There were no good flex options.Vikings-Patriots sits in the primary 4:25 p.m. ET slot, a game that presumably had been protected by FOX against a prime-time flexing. Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten previously explained on social media that the Chargers-Steelers game, due to begin at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, had been protected against flexing, too.But no other game merited a national audience in prime time. Ravens-Falcon, Panthers-Bucs, Bears-Giants, Bills-Dolphins Keenan Allen Jersey , Colts-Jaguars, Browns-Texans, Broncos-Bengals, Rams-Lions, Cardinals-Packers, Chiefs-Raiders, and Jets-Titans were the other choices.Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL worked with CBS to remove the protection and move into prime time a game that would have been available http://www.thechargerslockerroom.com/authentic-ladainian-tomlinson-jersey , at best, to 25-30 percent of the county. This meshes with one of the reasons for the creation of flexible scheduling: To allow teams to play their way into prime time, and to allow the NFL to bring the best possible matchups to the broadest audience.It was the right move, without question. Apart from the obvious benefit to NBC and the league via increased ratings for a game between two of the best teams in the NFL, the fans benefit by getting the best available matchups, with Vikings-Patriots also available to a wide swath of the nation in the late afternoon.The Chargers benefit as well. Instead of kicking off at 10:00 a.m, local time, it will be a 5:20 p.m. PT start.And while the Steelers have expressed a preference to have fewer night games at home Womens Jatavis Brown Jersey , the problem last year arose from having a cluster of late-season prime-time games in Pittsburgh. This Chargers game will be the third of the year at night in Pittsburgh, but they will have been spread from Week Four to Week 10 to Week 13.The only other potential night game would come in Week 17, when the Steelers host the Bengals. But that would have to be a game for the AFC North crown, at a minimum, to trigger the flex. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says interest from outside the United States in hosting NFL games is growing.Four games are scheduled to be played in London and one in Mexico City for the second straight year — the Mexico City game was scrubbed last year due to poor field conditions — and Goodell told Ben Fischer of that the league has seen signs that they could be shipping more games abroad. The hangup is the supply.“The reality is that the demand for playing those games is greater than we have in the inventory,” Goodell said. “But what we’re trying to do is, it’s a combination of the media, the events themselves Rayshawn Jenkins Jersey , and our partnerships.”The inventory is low because most teams don’t want to give up one of their eight home dates each year, which has led to suggestions that expanding the regular season could be tied to more international games as well as the prospect of putting a franchise in a different country. Goodell believes that a team would be supported, but other questions have to be answered.“I have no doubt that the fanbase and the commercial opportunity is there [for a franchise],” Goodell said. “Can we do it competitively? Can we do it where our 32 teams can compete at a competitive level? And that’s critical. At the end of the day our game is our product.”The Bears and Raiders will play this season’s first overseas game when they face off in London on October 6. That game will take place at Tottenham’s new stadium, which was designed with hosting NFL games in mind and Goodell’s comments suggest they’ll continue getting them.