If you’ve ever sat down on a Sunday afternoon, cold drink in hand, ready to watch your team only to find a completely different game on your local CBS or FOX affiliate, you know the frustration. The nfl tv map week 9 2024 was particularly chaotic because of a rare "flex" move by the league and some massive divisional matchups that forced broadcasters to make tough calls on who got to see what.
Week 9 wasn’t just any mid-season stretch. It was the week we saw the NFL move a game into primetime for the first time all year, which basically threw the original Sunday afternoon maps into a blender.
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Usually, the schedule you see in August is what you get in November. Not this time. The NFL exercised its flex power to bump the Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings matchup into the Sunday Night Football slot on NBC.
Originally, we were supposed to see the Jaguars and Eagles at night. Instead, Joe Flacco and the Colts got the spotlight. Because that game moved to 8:20 p.m. ET, the afternoon maps for CBS and FOX had to be redrawn to fill the void.
CBS Singleheader: Lamar vs. The World
CBS had the "singleheader" rights for Week 9, meaning most of the country only got one game on that network. They leaned heavily into the Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens showdown. If you lived anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic, the Rockies, or most of the Midwest, you likely saw Jim Nantz and Tony Romo calling Lamar Jackson’s dominant performance.
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Here is how the CBS coverage actually shook out across the country:
- The Red Zone (Most of the U.S.): Broncos at Ravens. This was the "prestige" game.
- The Northeast & Florida: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills. A massive AFC East rivalry that Kevin Harlan and Trent Green handled.
- The Midwest Pockets: Chargers at Browns. Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta were on the call for this one, mostly localized to Ohio and Southern California.
- The Late Window (4:05 p.m. ET): A tiny sliver of the map—mostly Arizona and Chicago—got the Bears at Cardinals game.
It's kinda wild how the Dolphins-Bills game didn't get more national run, but the Ravens were the "it" team that week. Honestly, if you were a Dolphins fan living in Texas, you were basically out of luck unless you had Sunday Ticket.
FOX Doubleheader: Brady in the Booth for the Big One
FOX had the doubleheader in Week 9, and they didn't overthink it. They put their "A-Team"—Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady—on the Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers game.
This was the late-afternoon anchor. Because it was a battle for the top of the NFC North, FOX sent it to almost 90% of the country. If you were watching football at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX, you were almost certainly watching the rain at Lambeau Field.
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FOX Early Games (1:00 p.m. ET)
The early window on FOX was much more fragmented. It basically looked like a patchwork quilt:
- Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons: This took up most of the Southeast and Texas. Adam Amin and Greg Olsen had the call.
- Washington Commanders at NY Giants: Localized to the Northeast corridor.
- Las Vegas Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals: Mostly just the home markets and a few pockets in the West.
- New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans: This was a very small regional broadcast. Unless you were in Nashville or Boston, you probably didn't see this one.
The "Gray Areas" and Strange Map Choices
Every year, there are weird overlaps. In Week 9 of 2024, the Philadelphia area was a mess because the Eagles were moved out of primetime. Since the Eagles played at 4:05 p.m. on CBS, the FOX affiliate in Philly couldn't show a competing game during that window due to blackout rules.
You also had the "Tom Brady Effect." FOX wants their $375 million man on as many screens as possible. Even in markets where a local game might have made sense, the network often forced the Lions-Packers game because Brady was the one talking. It’s a business, after all.
Primetime Standouts
Outside of the regional maps, we had the national windows that didn't require a map at all.
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- Thursday Night: Houston Texans at New York Jets (Amazon Prime).
- Sunday Night: Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings (NBC).
- Monday Night: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs (ESPN/ABC).
The Monday Night game was a classic, with Patrick Mahomes doing Mahomes things in the rain. It was simulcast on ABC, which always helps the ratings, especially for fans who haven't made the jump to streaming-only platforms.
How to Handle Future Map Changes
If you’re still trying to figure out why you missed a game, the best thing to do is check 506 Sports every Wednesday. They are the gold standard for these color-coded maps.
Basically, the NFL wants the best ratings. If your local team is 2-7 and the Ravens are 6-2, the network might just "forget" to show your local game in favor of the blowout. It's harsh, but that's how the nfl tv map week 9 2024 was built.
If you find yourself in a "dead zone" for your favorite team next season, your options are pretty straightforward. You've got YouTube TV’s Sunday Ticket for the out-of-market stuff, or NFL+ for the phone/tablet viewing. Just remember that local blackout rules still apply to the primetime games.
To stay ahead of the curve for the rest of the season, make sure to check the NFL's official "Flex" schedule page. They usually have to give 12 days' notice before moving a game, so you won't be surprised on a Sunday morning. You can also follow the lead announcers on social media; often, they’ll leak where they’re heading before the official maps even drop.
Plan your Sunday accordingly. Check your local listings at least 24 hours in advance. Most importantly, don't trust the "auto-record" on your DVR if a game gets flexed—it almost always misses the new time slot.