KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If NFL fans nationwide haven't seen enough of Patrick Mahomes, yet they get another shot in Week 7, with the NFL moving the kickoff time for the Chiefs contest with the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium Oct. 21 to Sunday night.
The game originally scheduled for a noon kickoff will now start at 7:20 p.m. with the broadcast on NBC. The Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco game originally slated for Sunday night moves to 3:25 p.m.
That means the Chiefs will have three primetime games in four weeks following their Monday night game at Denver on Oct. 2 and this Sunday night's meeting against New England.
If the Chiefs get past the Patriots and the Bengals hold their home turf against Pittsburgh, the Week 7 showdown would pit the 6-0 Chiefs against the 5-1 Bengals with obvious AFC playoff tiebreaker implications.
NFL television ratings this year are up, and executives at all four NFL broadcasting partners mention excitement around Mahomes as a factor, according to interviews by John Ourand of Sports Business Daily.
"Going into the season, the young quarterbacks were a very good storyline," CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus told Ourand. "It’s happening in Kansas City, where Patrick Mahomes is an attractive storyline."
The Week 7 kickoff change brings the Chiefs current total of primetime games on the season to six, assuming no other game times get flexed to new timeslots. The Chiefs face the Rams in Mexico City during Week 11 on Monday night, host the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night in Week 13 and visit the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in Week 16.
