Week 14 wrapped up with a ton of clarity. Nine teams are already out of the playoff hunt. As for the AFC, a couple of contenders like the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos are eyeing the No. 1 seed, and the picture is tightening everywhere. But there’s one more thing we learned: the league isn’t shy about tweaking the schedule when certain teams start slipping out of playoff relevance.

Which is exactly why the NFL flexed the Patriots’ Week 16 road game against the Baltimore Ravens on December 21 into the Sunday-night slot. That switch bumped Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals out of primetime, moving their game against Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins into an afternoon window instead.

To put it simply, the Patriots–Ravens game now kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET instead of 1 p.m., while Bengals–Dolphins shifts from Sunday night to a 1 p.m. ET start. And the reason isn’t hard to spot. After 14 weeks, the playoff picture dictates which teams get the spotlight.

As it stands, the Patriots are 11–2, holding the league’s best record and pushing hard to lock up the AFC’s top seed. The Ravens, meanwhile, are a disappointing 6–7, but still only a game back of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North despite last Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh.

Coming back to Cincy and Miami, they’re technically still alive in the playoff hunt, but neither has a winning record through 14 weeks. With four straight wins, the Dolphins head into next Monday night’s matchup with the Steelers at 6–7. Meanwhile, Cincinnati sits at 4–9 following a tough loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Taking all of this together, the way things are trending, it’s fair to expect the Bengals’ final two games against the Arizona Cardinals and the Cleveland Browns to land in the early window as well. For now, both are still listed as TBD on the schedule, but you can pretty much pencil them in as 1 p.m. kickoffs, with Joe Burrow and company just trying to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Can Joe Burrow and the Bengals make the playoffs?

With their Week 14 loss to the Bills, the Bengals’ playoff hopes took a serious hit. At 4–9, Cincy not only needs to win out, which would get them to 8-9, but they also need help from the Steelers and Ravens dropping games over the final four weeks. Right now, the Bengals are well outside the AFC’s top seven.

The Patriots and Broncos are battling for the No. 1 seed, while the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Steelers sit in the next two spots. With Pittsburgh beating Baltimore this past Sunday, the Steelers are now the favorites to take the AFC North, while the Ravens are left fighting for position behind them.

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So the division is basically out of reach for Cincinnati. And the wild-card picture isn’t any kinder. If the season ended today, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Bills would take the three AFC wild-card spots. Bottom line: Joe Burrow and the Bengals have to win out and hope Pittsburgh and Baltimore stumble if they want any shot at sneaking into the postseason.