The NFL has announced the days for next weekend's playoff games, but not the times or broadcast assignments. And yes, that's intentional.
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As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted, the league is waiting on the outcome of Monday night's game between the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers before locking in the schedule.
The obvious question is why.
The most logical explanation is simple. If the Steelers win, the league can slot a Steelers-New England Patriots matchup into the premium 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday window. If the Texans win, that late slot likely shifts to Los Angeles Rams versus the Chicago Bears, a game with broader national appeal than Houston-New England.
That still does not fully explain why Saturday's games were left without times or networks attached, but Florio points out a couple of possibilities. The league may want one AFC game in prime time and the other earlier in the day. Or it may have decided that leaving Sunday flexible would look even stranger if Saturday were already locked in.
What is clear is that the NFL has all the data. The league knows which matchups project to draw the biggest audiences, and it has no obligation to commit until all eight playoff teams are finalized.
There is also a competitive angle. The winner of Texans-Steelers would clearly prefer the later Sunday kickoff. Every extra hour matters on a short week, especially for Houston, which would have to travel home and then turn around for a trip to New England.
However it shakes out, the waiting should not last long. As Florio notes, the full schedule will almost certainly be released as soon as the Monday night game goes final.
