The NFL could not flex the Jets-Patriots game because it falls outside the eligible window for Thursday Night Football.
Despite some lopsided matchups, Prime Video’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ ratings are up 14% year over year.
Flex scheduling is complex due to logistics, network protections, and potential hardships for teams and fans.

The anticipation ahead of the Nov. 13 matchup between the New York Jets and New England Patriots, Prime Video’s latest “Thursday Night Football” offering, is at a fever pitch – the AFC East clash generating copious interest … and perhaps more so for people who just crawled out from beneath heavy objects … and who live in the northeast … and think it’s still 2010, when the NYJ were still competitively relevant.

The Jets, who have won two straight after losing their first seven games, are 13-point underdogs, per BetMGM. New York’s myriad injuries and a roster recently depleted at the trade deadline would seem to justify the notion they very likely might not come within two touchdowns of an archrival sitting atop the division and tied for the best record in the NFL. Crippled as the Jets are, it might also beg the question: Why didn’t the league flex its prime-time Thursday broadcast away from this game?

If the Patriots cruise to another victory – or even prevail from a slog that Thursday games so typically devolve into – it will extend what’s been a brutal patch of prime-time games, especially of the “TNF” variety. (The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Minnesota Vikings 37-10 in Week 8’s Thursday game. Week 9 served up the Baltimore Ravens’ 28-6 bashing of the Miami Dolphins. A week ago, the Denver Broncos defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 10-7 in a contest that was – technically? – competitive, if still a tough watch.)

So why not pivot to a better game than Jets-Patriots? The reasons are myriad, both operationally and logically, so let’s break it down.

Why didn’t the NFL flex out of the Jets-Patriots Thursday night game?

Just one word: Impossible.

The Jets and Patriots will ring in Week 11. Thursday games are only eligible to be flexed between Weeks 14 and 16, and only a maximum of two can be moved in a given season. And in actuality, the league has only utilized the Thursday flex option once – moving a Denver Broncos-Chargers game into last year’s Week 16 Thursday slot when the initially scheduled Browns-Bengals matchup had lost nearly all of its luster.

It’s not a decision the league would make lightly anyway given the logistical imposition on fans for moving a game from Thursday into a Sunday afternoon slot – which is much more disruptive, for example, than moving a 1 p.m. ET kickoff on a Sunday into the prime-time “Sunday Night Football” prime time slot. The NFL would strive to provide at least three weeks advance notice before flexing a “TNF” contest.

Are Amazon’s ratings suffering from the Thursday slump?

Just one word: Nope.

A league spokesman told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday that Prime Video’s ratings are up 14% year over year. Sunday night (9%) and Monday night (17%) games have also gotten a nice bump this season – none of them flexed, either, even though they’ve also had what turned out to be suboptimal matchups (Chiefs-Commanders, Seahawks-Commanders and Chargers-Steelers among them) in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Sunday afternoon ratings, traditionally the NFL’s most watched time slot are “only” up 4% to date in 2025.

Why aren’t more midseason games flexed?

There’s a certain Jenga element to moving any game that perhaps casual viewers don’t take into account. For example, the Week 7 Sunday night game between the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers earlier this season was eligible to be moved – and probably wasn’t the sexiest pairing of the season, unless you bought into the tailback showdown between Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey.

But, as typically happens in the middle of a given season, there aren’t a ton of good options on the other side of that equation. In Week 7, for example, two teams were on bye and two more were playing in London. There was one Thursday night game that week and two on Monday night, none of those contests eligible to be moved to Sunday night. Furthermore, FOX and CBS are permitted to protect one of their own games, so it’s not like Chargers-Colts – probably a more attractive game at the time on the surface – would necessarily even be available to swap in. The circumstances of the teams being flexed out must also be taken into account, including whether a scheduling change would create a hardship or conflict with their circumstances on either side of a flexed game.

Not every preseason projection works out

The NFL certainly wasn’t forecasting in May that Jets-Patriots, for example, would look like such a dud when the 2025 schedule was released on May 14. At the time, both teams seemed like they might get a boost from head coaching changes and some notable personnel additions via free agency and/or the draft. Few prognosticated the Patriots would be in the mix for the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed while the Jets were in the mix for the No. 1 draft pick in 2026.

But as the league optimizes its revenue with more and more exclusive broadcast windows – just in the past few years, it has added an increasing amount of international games, including on Friday night in Week 1, the Black Friday game, and the determination to play on Christmas no matter what day of the week it falls on – that means incrementally diminishing flexibility … to flex.

When can the NFL begin flexing games?

Flex scheduling was initially implemented in 2006 as a mechanism to occasionally move egregiously bad matchups out of prime-time slots, when they didn’t serve viewers well and/or broadcast partners which might be stuck with a dog game as their only inventory of a given week. Said another way, it was also a way to spotlight teams that were much better than they were forecast to be heading into a season.

These are among the current pertinent rules around flex scheduling, per the league:

For Sunday Night Football, it may be used up to twice between Weeks 5-10, and any week during Weeks 11-17.

For Monday Night Football it may be used any week in Weeks 12-17.

For Thursday Night Football it may be used up to twice between Weeks 14-16.

Only Sunday afternoon games (or those listed as TBD) are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, Monday night, or Thursday night, in which case the initially scheduled Sunday, Monday, or Thursday night game would be moved to Sunday afternoon.

Sunday afternoon games may also be moved between 1 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. or 4:25 p.m. ET.

As in prior seasons, for Week 18, the final weekend of the season, the scheduling of the Saturday, Sunday afternoon, and the Sunday night games is not assigned. The schedule for Week 18 will be announced at the conclusion of Week 17.

For Sunday Night Football in Weeks 5-13 and for Monday Night Football in Weeks 12-17, the NFL will decide and announce no later than 12 days in advance of the game, which game will be played on Sunday night and which game will be played on Monday night.

For Sunday Night Football in Weeks 14-17, the flexible scheduling decision will generally be made no later than 6 days prior to the game.

For Thursday Night Football in Weeks 14-16, the flexible scheduling decision will generally be made no later than 21 days prior to the game.

The NFL has filed a grievance against the NFL Players Association regarding the union’s annual team report cards.
The league is seeking to stop the next release of the results from the player surveys.
The league contended that the exercise violated terms of the collective bargaining agreement that require clubs and players to limit disparaging remarks about franchises.

The NFL has filed a grievance against the NFL Players Association regarding the union’s annual team report cards, with the league seeking to stop the next release of the results from the player surveys.

The league, according to multiple reports, contended that the exercise violated terms of the collective bargaining agreement that require clubs and players to limit disparaging remarks about franchises as well as their management and personnel.

The NFLPA, however, said in a memo last week that it plans to move forward with this year’s survey.

‘We have responded to the grievance with our intention to fight against this action and continue what’s clearly become an effective tool for comparing workplace standards across the league and equipping you to make informed career decisions,’ the union wrote in its memo.

The NFLPA has released the assessments in each of the last three years, compiling players’ responses on working conditions in a variety of categories. Beyond evaluations of facilities and operations, the report cards also include team marks for respective head coaches and owners.

The process has drawn pushback from the league itself as well as owners. Jets chairman Woody Johnson, the only owner to receive an ‘F’ last year, said in March that he viewed the entire process and resulting findings as ‘totally bogus.’

The New England Patriots will debut new ‘Rivalries’ uniforms against the New York Jets.
The ‘Nor’easter’ themed uniforms pay homage to New England’s weather and nautical history.
For 2025, all teams in the AFC East and NFC West will wear their ‘Rivalries’ uniforms once.

Currently riding a seven-game winning streak that is tied for the best in the NFL − as is their 8-2 record − the New England Patriots pretty clearly don’t need a nor’easter to suddenly blow in from the Atlantic Ocean in order to ground the New York Jets when they meet on ‘Thursday Night Football’ on Prime Video.

Yet ‘Nor’easter’ is going to be a theme for this contest regardless as the Pats, who are 13-point favorites, per BetMGM, become the fourth team this season to take the field in their new ‘Rivalries’ uniforms conceived by Nike. They are designed to pay homage to New England’s infamous weather, nautical history and a proud football lineage.

What’s new about the Patriots’ ‘Rivalries’ uniforms?

The Pats’ new jerseys will feature a predominantly ‘Storm Blue’ colorway, which looks like something of a compromise between the club’s traditional blue muted by gray and is symbolic of the regional fog. A new ‘NE’ logo on the sleeves serves as a clean double entendre. Silver striping on the shoulders and pants is meant to represent beams from a lighthouse, like the one built into Gillette Stadium’s superstructure and also have an embedded netting pattern in honor of the area’s fishermen. Six red stars embroidered around the jersey’s neckline represent New England’s six states and the organization’s half-dozen (for now) Lombardi Trophies.

‘We Are All Patriots,’ famously proclaimed by owner Robert Kraft following the Patriots’ first Super Bowl win in 2002 − just months after the Sept. 11 attacks − is stitched inside the collar. The jersey numbers are perforated as a callback to the uniforms the Patriots used in the 1990s, when Drew Bledsoe was the quarterback and Bill Parcells the head coach. The matte white helmets and silver facemasks are a tribute to the snow and ice that typically blankets that part of the country in wintertime.

What are NFL ‘Rivalries’ uniforms by Nike?

Think of them as the football version of the sports apparel company’s NBA ‘City Edition’ uniforms or Major League Baseball’s ‘City Connect’ jerseys. Signaled during the NFL draft and unveiled in August, Nike has strived to create something that further strengthens NFL teams’ bonds to their unique civic environments. And, as “rivalries” would suggest, all of them will be worn in intra-divisional matchups.

‘The 2025 Rivalries uniforms will celebrate storied local traditions and unite fan communities with designs unique to select cities and teams,” Nike announced during the rollout.

‘The designs are rooted extensively in the legacies and inspirations true to each team, serving as authentic, competitive expressions of community pride while giving athletes and fans an opportunity to connect like never before.’

Which NFL teams have ‘Rivalries’ uniforms?

Eventually all of them. But for 2025, each team in the AFC East and NFC West is scheduled to wear its “Rivalries” unis one time this season. Two additional divisions will be added to the rotation in each of the next three seasons, and the “Rivalries” option then becomes part of a team’s closet for the following three years.

When will NFL teams wear ‘Rivalries’ uniforms in 2025?

 Los Angeles Rams: Nov. 16 vs. Seattle Seahawks

 New York Jets: Dec. 7 vs. Miami Dolphins

 San Francisco 49ers: Jan. 4, 2026 vs. Seattle Seahawks

 Seattle Seahawks: Dec. 18 vs. Los Angeles Rams

LeBron James continues his preparation as he works toward his season debut for the Los Angeles Lakers.

James practiced with the South Bay Lakers, the NBA team’s G-League affiliate, for a second time on Thursday. 

The four-time MVP did not experience any residual effects from his workout on Wednesday, according to ESPN. It was the first time James was said to have played 5-on-5 since the first round of the playoffs in April.

The Lakers are finishing out the final two games of a five-game road trip this weekend. James did not make the trip.

James, who will turn 41 years old at the end of December, has played at least 70 games in each of the past two seasons.

Will LeBron James play for South Bay Lakers?

The South Bay Lakers started the season with a pair of wins on the weekend of Nov. 8 against the Valley Suns at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California.

The team will play against the Rip City Remix on Nov. 16 at home. James is not expected to play for the team.

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is a pain caused by some level of irritation, pinching, or compression of the sciatic nerve, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The nerve is located in the lower back and runs down the back of the left and right leg. It begins from the lower part of the spinal cord and extends through the buttocks, back of the thigh and down to the feet. The area of pain can range anywhere along the back of the leg.

From now on, the shoes belonging to the greatest shooter of all time will look a little different.

The move allows Curry Brand, the company that had produced sneakers and clothes under the Under Armour umbrella, to operate independently. Curry Brand can now seek another exclusive retail partner.

“What Curry Brand stands for, what I stand for and my commitment to that mission will never change, it’s only growing stronger,” Curry said Thursday in a press release. “I’m excited for a future that’s focused on aggressive growth with a continued commitment to keep showing up for the next generation.’

Curry also thanked Under Armour for believing in him earlier in his career and for affording him “the space to build something much bigger and more impactful than a shoe.”

Curry Brand has also launched several initiatives, investing in youth sports and underfunded basketball programs.

Under Armour had experienced widespread success with Curry as an ambassador, though the company’s performance has lagged recently. Under Armour expanded its restructuring plan and the company’s stock is down more than 50% since last November and nearly 70% in five years.

“For Under Armour, this moment is about discipline and focus on the core UA brand during a critical stage of our turnaround,” Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank said in the release. “And for Stephen, it’s the right moment to let what we created evolve on his terms. We’ll always be grateful for what he’s brought to the UA team.”

Amateur Kai Trump shot a 13-over 83 on Thursday, Nov. 13, in the first round of The Annika, her first LPGA tournament.

Trump, the granddaughter of President Donald Trump was one of three amateurs invited to play. She went into the round fresh off signing a letter of intent at the University of Miami, where she will play next year. Kai Trump is the oldest daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and his former wife, Vanessa, and spoke on her grandfather’s behalf at the Republican National Convention last year.

Trump had four consecutive bogeys to start the round, going off No. 10 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. She then had three pars in the final five holes on the back nine for a 41 at the turn. Trump’s had three bogeys and a pair of double-bogeys on her second nine. In last place at 108th overall, she will likely miss the 60-player 36-hole cut.

Here’s what to know about Kai Trump’s LPGA debut at The Annika, including tee times for the pro-am and opening rounds, a tournament schedule, how to watch and what Trump said in advance of playing with the world’s best golfers in a professional event for the first time:

Kai Trump tee time, schedule at The Annika

Kai Trump is scheduled to tee off from the 10th hole at 12:32 p.m. ET during The Annika’s first round at The Pelican Club on Thursday, Nov. 13. She is playing in a group with LPGA professionals Hinako Shinobu and Olivia Cowan. Round 1 of the 2025 event is set to begin at 7 a.m. ET. Click here for every 2025 tee time at The Annika.

Kai Trump at The Annika pro am

Kai Trump is participating in The Annika pro-am event, along with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and her Fever teammates who moonlighted as caddies on Wednesday. Trump is playing in a group with Pelican Golf Club owner Dan Doyle Jr., who gave her the sponsor’s exemption for the tournament.

What Kai Trump said about LPGA debut at The Annika

‘I’m going to learn a lot no matter what happens,’ Kai Trump said earlier this week, according to the Palm Beach Post. ‘I’m going to take a lot away from it. To be inside the ropes with them playing with (the best players), learning what kind of shots they hit, what do they do on the course.’

Watch LPGA’s The Annika with Fubo

How to watch 2025 The Annika: TV, live streaming

All four rounds of The Annika in 2025 will be broadcast nationally by The Golf Channel, which is available via live stream through Fubo. LPGA Live and NBCSports.com will also provide live streaming coverage of The Annika. The first round begins on Thursday, Nov. 13 and the final round is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 16 at The Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.

All times Eastern

First round: Thursday, Nov. 13

10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Golf Channel, Fubo, LPGA Live

Second round: Friday, Nov. 14

10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Golf Channel, Fubo, LPGA Live

Third round: Saturday, Nov. 15

1:30-2:30 p.m. on LPGA Live
2:30-4:30 p.m. on Golf Channel, Fubo, LPGA Live

Final round: Sunday, Nov. 16

1-2 p.m. on LPGA Live
2-4 p.m. on Golf Channel, Fubo, LPGA Live

Tom Brady won seven Super Bowls during his two decades in the NFL thanks to methodical preparation. Hopefully, that mindset extends to getting insurance for all his businesses in his post-NFL life.

A man stole more $9,700 worth of trading cards from a Brady-backed card shop in the SoHo area of Lower Manhattan, New York City, according to the NYPD.

The theft occurred on Oct. 20 before noon at the CardVault store on Lafayette Street.

Brady started CardVault in 2020 and there are eight locations currently open in:

Dallas
Chicago
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Boston
Foxborough, Massachusetts
Mashantucket, Connecticut
New York (SoHo and East Hampton)

A ninth location at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota is set to open soon.

The NYPD and SoHo CardVault store have not specified which cards the suspect stole.

Some major changes are coming to Major League Soccer.

League owners met Thursday in Florida and voted to shift the league’s calendar to align with most of the world’s domestic leagues. The league will also review potential adjustments to the MLS playoff format, but those changes are not yet finalized.

These changes come after a two-year review process that began in October 2023, with input offered by owners, club executives, players, the MLSPA, partners, and even fans. Here’s everything to know.

How is the MLS schedule changing?

A press release from MLS announced that the league’s regular season will move from spring-fall to a summer-spring beginning in the summer of 2027. Plans are to have the regular season start in mid-to-late July, and wrap up in April with playoffs in May. The league would also take a break in December and January.

‘The calendar shift is one of the most important decisions in our history,’ said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. ‘Aligning our schedule with the world’s top leagues will strengthen our clubs’ global competitiveness, create better opportunities in the transfer market, and ensure our Audi MLS Cup Playoffs take center stage without interruption. It marks the start of a new era for our league and for soccer in North America.’

This change could potentially have major positives for MLS. For one, the league’s current schedule falls in the middle of the global transfer summer window, which is when most of the biggest transfers take place. Moving the MLS schedule would allow MLS to enhance itself as a global soccer competitor, taking advantage of what is elsewhere in the world, a big time for snagging world-class talent.

The schedule change would also allow for more playoff viewership. As it stands, the MLS playoffs happen at the same time as college football and the NFL, which hinders their ability to draw viewers.

In order to compensate for this change, the upcoming season will be transitional and will feature only 14 regular season games from February to May 2027. Results from that season will determine qualification for Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Canadian Championship, Leagues Cup, and Concacaf Champions Cup.

MLS says that 92% of league viewers are in favor of this shift, believing the shift will lead to better player performance and a postseason with more opportunity to be popularized in the United States.

After a big loss to NFC West rival Los Angeles, San Francisco 49ers fans could use some good news and coach Kyle Shanahan delivered.

Shanahan confirmed today that quarterback Brock Purdy will start this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. It’s the first time Purdy’s suited up for a game since Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He’s missed all but two games on the 49ers’ schedule this season due to shoulder and, more importantly, toe injuries.

San Francisco’s gone with backup Mac Jones for most of the season and kept pace in the NFC playoff race. Major injuries – notably season-ending injuries to defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner – have hit the team hard in 2025. Still, the 49ers are just one game back in the loss column for the NFC’s No. 7 seed in the playoffs.

The team’s traded wins and losses on a weekly basis with Jones as the starter from Week 5 on. If that pattern holds, they’re on for a road win this week in Purdy’s hometown. San Francisco’s top quarterback grew up in a suburb of Phoenix and will likely have lots of friends and family in attendance for Sunday’s game.

Shanahan also confirmed that one of Purdy’s top targets from last year, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, will also make his return to the field in Week 11. The second-year wideout ranked as high as third in the NFL in receiving yards before a hamstring injury sidelined him for much of the regular season.

49ers QB depth chart

Brock Purdy
Mac Jones
Adrian Martinez
Kurtis Rourke (non-football injury list)

With Purdy active this week, Martinez will likely be demoted to the practice squad or labeled as inactive for Sunday’s game.

NFC West playoff standings

No. 1 seed: Philadelphia Eagles (7-2, NFC East leader)
No. 2 seed:Seattle Seahawks (7-2, NFC West leader)
No. 3 seed:Detroit Lions (6-3, NFC North leader)
No. 4 seed:Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3, NFC South leader)
No. 5 seed:Los Angeles Rams (7-2)
No. 6 seed:Chicago Bears (6-3)
No. 7 seed: Green Bay Packers (5-3-1)

In the hunt: San Francisco 49ers (6-4), Carolina Panthers (5-5)

49ers schedule