With the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both in first place in their respective divisions, there was a chance the NFL could move the teams’ upcoming Week 10 matchup into a new time slot. But that won’t be the case, with the game set to remain in the 1 p.m. window.
The Patriots enter this weekend’s game sitting alone atop the AFC East with a record of 6-2, just ahead of the Buffalo Bills, who have a mark of 5-2 on the season. New England beat Buffalo in a thrilling Sunday Night Football game earlier this month in the teams’ only head-to-head matchup so far.
Tampa Bay is also in first place in its division. The Buccaneers are 6-2, sitting ahead of the second place Carolina Panthers, who the Patriots throttled in Week 4.
To this point in the season, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield are among the leading NFL MVP candidates, according to oddsmakers.
Patriots-Bucs flex decision
That left the game under consideration for a potential flex, with Tuesday the latest the NFL could announce its decision on changing the time of the game’s kickoff.
Instead, the game will take place at Raymond James Schedule in Tampa as scheduled. The Patriots and Bucs will kick off at 1 p.m. In the Boston area, the game will air on WBZ-TV and other CBS stations around the country.
Complete pregame and postgame coverage can be found locally on WBZ-TV. Pregame programming will start at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, followed by The NFL Today.
After the game, WBZ-TV will have analysis and press conferences from Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye live on Patriots 5th Quarter.
Patriots upcoming schedule
Before its showdown against Tampa, New England hosts the Atlanta Falcons this weekend at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots enter Sunday’s game having won five in a row.
The Patriots will then travel to face the Bucs before a Thursday Night Football showdown at home against the New York Jets on November 13.
After that game, the Patriots travel to Cincinnati on November 23, then host Monday Night Football against the New York Giants on December 1. After that game, the Patriots will head into their Week 14 bye.
