The NFL had one of its quietest Sunday slates of the season on Christmas Eve. Conversely, New Year's Eve will be one of the league's loudest.
The NFL's Week 17 schedule ensures that 14 of the league's 16 matchups will be played on Sunday. A whopping 13 of those contests will begin in the 1 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET windows, making for one of the NFL's most action-packed weeks of the season.
CBS and Fox will both have a hefty slice of the action on Sunday, but it's CBS that will get to broadcast a doubleheader in both the 1 and 4 p.m. ET windows. The network will also have the rights to seven games compared to Fox's six.
CBS will focus most of its energy in the early afternoon broadcast slot on the Dolphins-Ravens game. That contest will, in all likelihood, decide which team will have the No. 1 seed in the AFC and could be a preview of the conference championship game. It also could have an impact on Lamar Jackson's standing in the NFL's MVP race.
In the late afternoon, CBS will feature the Chiefs-Bengals game as both teams fight for playoff positioning. At present, Cincinnati is out of the playoff picture, so the Bengals may play desperate against a Kansas City team that features a struggling Patrick Mahomes-led offense.
Fox's coverage will largely be regional, but a majority of the major markets will be shown the Steelers-Seahawks game, as that will compete head-to-head with Chiefs-Bengals. Both the Steelers and Seahawks are fighting to get in as wild-card teams, and the loser may face an uphill battle as they look to get into the postseason.
Below are the full NFL coverage maps for Week 17, plus a list of major TV markets and the CBS and Fox games that will be presented in each on Sunday.
MORE: Updated NFL playoff picture for Week 17
NFL coverage map Week 17
(NFL coverage maps courtesy of 506sports.com)
- Fox single game
Blue: Cardinals at Eagles
Green: Rams at Giants
Yellow: 49ers at Commanders
Orange: Saints at Buccaneers
Light Blue: Titans at Texans
Red: Steelers at Seahawks (LATE)
- CBS early games
Red: Dolphins at Ravens
Blue: Patriots at Bills
Green: Raiders at Colts
Yellow: Panthers at Jaguars
Orange: Falcons at Bears
Gray: No game (Local blackout)
- CBS late games
Red: Bengals at Chiefs
Blue: Chargers at Broncos
TV schedule for NFL Week 17 games
Below are the Sunday afternoon games that will be broadcast regionally by CBS and Fox.
CBS coverage
- Dolphins at Ravens (1 p.m. ET)
- Patriots at Bills (1 p.m. ET)
- Raiders at Colts (1 p.m. ET)
- Panthers at Jaguars (1 p.m. ET)
- Falcons at Bears (1 p.m. ET)
- Bengals at Chiefs (4:25 p.m. ET)
- Chargers at Broncos (4:25 p.m. ET)
Fox coverage
- Cardinals at Eagles (1 p.m. ET)
- Rams at Giants (1 p.m. ET)
- 49ers at Commanders (1 p.m. ET)
- Saints at Buccaneers (1 p.m. ET)
- Titans at Texans (1 p.m. ET)
- Steelers at Seahawks (4:05 p.m. ET)
The NFL's main slate will be loaded with 13 games, as there will be just the minimum amount of stand-alone games this week. This comes after the league broadcast just nine games in the afternoon windows in Week 16.
The NFL's "Sunday Night Football" game will be a battle between the Packers and Vikings. Each are in a do-or-die-type scenario to make the postseason, so that contest will go a long way toward determining which side stays alive in the postseason race heading into Week 18.
There will be no NFL game on Monday night in Week 17 as it is New Year's Day. Instead, ESPN will broadcast the College Football Playoff semifinals featuring Michigan vs. Alabama and Texas vs. Washington in the usual "Monday Night Football" programming window.
As such, the NFL's main slate is loaded with games that will be consequential in the playoff race. Notably, the Buccaneers-Saints game could decide the winner of the NFC South while the Dolphins and Ravens play for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
The Bengals and Chiefs will play in the marquee afternoon game. Cincinnati is fighting to stay in the playoff race while Kansas City is looking to avenge a Christmas Day loss to the Raiders.
List of Week 17 NFL games by TV market
(TV markets listed in order by size)
| Market | CBS early | Fox early | CBS late | Fox late |
| New York | Dolphins at Ravens | Rams at Giants | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Los Angeles | Dolphins at Ravens | Rams at Giants | Chargers at Broncos | — |
| Chicago | Falcons at Bears | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Philadelphia | Dolphins at Ravens | Cardinals at Eagles | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Dallas-Ft. Worth | Dolphins at Ravens | Cardinals at Eagles | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| San Francisco/Bay area | Dolphins at Ravens | 49ers at Commanders | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Washington D.C. | Dolphins at Ravens | 49ers at Commanders | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Houston | No game (local blackout) | Titans at Texans | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Boston | Patriots at Bills | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Atlanta | Falcons at Bears | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Phoenix | Dolphins at Ravens | Cardinals at Eagles | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Tampa/St. Petersburg | No game (local blackout) | Saints at Buccaneers | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Seattle | Dolphins at Ravens | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Detroit | Dolphins at Ravens | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | Dolphins at Ravens | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Miami | Dolphins at Ravens | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Denver | Dolphins at Ravens | 49ers at Commanders | Chargers at Broncos | — |
| Orlando | Dolphins at Ravens | Saints at Buccaneers | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Cleveland | Dolphins at Ravens | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Sacramento | Raiders at Colts | 49ers at Commanders | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Charlotte | Panthers at Jaguars | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Portland | Dolphins at Ravens | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| St. Louis | Dolphins at Ravens | Saints at Buccaneers | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Pittsburgh | Dolphins at Ravens | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Indianapolis | Raiders at Colts | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Baltimore | Dolphins at Ravens | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Raleigh-Durham | Panthers at Jaguars | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Nashville | Dolphins at Ravens | Titans at Texans | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| San Diego | Dolphins at Ravens | Rams at Giants | Chargers at Broncos | — |
| Salt Lake City | Dolphins at Ravens | 49ers at Commanders | Chargers at Broncos | — |
| San Antonio | Dolphins at Ravens | Titans at Texans | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Kansas City | Dolphins at Ravens | Saints at Buccaneers | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Columbus | Dolphins at Ravens | Saints at Buccaneers | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Milwaukee | Dolphins at Ravens | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Cincinnati | Dolphins at Ravens | Saints at Buccaneers | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Las Vegas | Raiders at Colts | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Jacksonville | Panthers at Jaguars | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
| Oklahoma City | Dolphins at Ravens | Cardinals at Eagles | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| New Orleans | Falcons at Bears | Saints at Buccaneers | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Memphis | Dolphins at Ravens | Titans at Texans | Bengals at Chiefs | — |
| Buffalo | Patriots at Bills | — | Bengals at Chiefs | Steelers at Seahawks |
