The New England Patriots lost one of their three remaining primetime games Thursday.
For the first time ever, the NFL flexed out a Monday Night Football matchup. Rather than televising a Week 15 game between the Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, ESPN will air the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks. New England and Kansas City will instead play on Sunday, Dec. 17, at 1 p.m. ET.
It’s obvious which team is more responsible for the decision.
The defending Super Bowl champions may be the league’s top draw, and that’s before accounting for the possibility of a certain pop star attending to cheer on Travis Kelce and Co.
Yet as many onlookers quickly noted, ESPN wanted no part of the 2-9 Patriots anyway,
“The Patriots are so bad that the NFL had to flex Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift out of prime time,” Savage Sports wrote.
The Patriots are so bad that the NFL had to flex Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift out of prime time. pic.twitter.com/vWajRjx298
— Savage (@SavageSports_) November 30, 2023
“The Patriots are so bad this season that the NFL opted to flex Patrick Mahomes (and potentially Taylor Swift) out of primetime,” NESN’s Zack Cox similarly claimed.
The Patriots are so bad this season that the NFL opted to flex Patrick Mahomes (and potentially Taylor Swift) out of primetime. https://t.co/QvNDv8oSQR
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) November 30, 2023
“ESPN said not even the possibility of Taylor Swift is enough to get them to air the New England Patriots,” a fan joked.
ESPN said not even the possibility of Taylor Swift is enough to get them to air the New England Patriots. https://t.co/AdhP7w5dZx
— Hot damn, we do that? (@zmullis) November 30, 2023
“Chiefs-Patriots flexed out of MNF,” the Boston Globe‘s Ben Volin wrote. “ESPN must already know that Taylor Swift isn’t going.”
Chiefs-Patriots flexed out of MNF. ESPN must already know that Taylor Swift isn’t going
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) November 30, 2023
Swift would have been a really devoted partner to have attended that December night game at Foxborough. She and all TV viewers won’t have to worry about watching a dismal Patriots offense that mustered 13 combined points in their last two losses.
The Patriots have scored a whopping 16 touchdowns in 11 games. While they haven’t named their starting quarterback for Sunday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, they’re reportedly leaning toward starting Bailey Zappe instead of Mac Jones.
Bill Belichick’s team took Kansas City off the primetime stage, but the Patriots will still participate in what could be two ugly island games next month. They play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football in Week 14, and the NFL Network will televise a Christmas Eve game bout against the Denver Broncos.