Because the Bears are still contending for a first-round playoff bye and the Vikings are not yet assured of a wild-card berth, the NFL has pushed the start of their regular-season finale Sunday from noon to 3:35 p.m.
It’s one of at least five games “flexed” for the coming weekend because of playoff implications, four of which — and possibly five — will be played simultaneously.
NBC has picked up the Colts-Titans game for prime time, and the other time-shifted matchups are to land in the league’s late-afternoon slot.
In addition to Bears at Vikings, which will be seen locally on Fox-32, that includes Eagles at Redskins and 49ers at Rams joining Cardinals at Seahawks in the NFC.
The AFC games at 3:25 p.m. will be Bengals at Steelers and Browns at Ravens, in addition to Chargers at Broncos.
The kickoff for Raiders at Chiefs on Sunday was to be determined by the outcome of the Chiefs’ Week 16 prime-time game with the Seahawks. Were the Chiefs to lock up the top seed in the AFC, their Week 17 game with the Raiders would be at noon. Otherwise the game would be played later Sunday.
The remainder of the Week 17 games Sunday were scheduled for noon: Falcons at Buccaneers, Panthers at Saints, Cowboys at Giants, Lions at Packers, Jaguars at Texans, Dolphins at Bills and Jets at Patriots.
The Saints have clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and the Cowboys are locked into the No. 4 spot.
philrosenthal@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @phil_rosenthal
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