With the Miami Dolphins running out of playoff hope and the Cleveland Browns already eliminated, their Dec. 29 game will not get the prime-time treatment.
The Dolphins’ Week 17 game in Cleveland was originally scheduled for an 8:20 p.m. kickoff to air on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” but no more, in an expected announcement from the league Tuesday.
Dolphins-Browns was flexed out of prime time to make way for the Atlanta Falcons in Washington against the Commanders.
Miami and Cleveland will now be a 4:05 p.m. kickoff Dec. 29 on CBS.
The Dolphins face the Browns after taking on the San Francisco 49ers at home in a 4:25 p.m. kickoff this Sunday. After the Browns, Miami wraps up its regular season with a road game against the New York Jets, which could either be a Saturday, Jan. 4 game or, more likely, be the final Sunday afternoon of the season, Jan. 5.
The Dolphins and Browns were both wild-card playoff teams last season and entered with high expectations. Cleveland is 3-11 and officially out of the playoff chase. At 6-8, Miami is two games out of the final AFC wild card spot, held by the Los Angeles Chargers, with three weeks remaining.