The Broncos-Chargers game in Week 16 is being flexed to Thursday night

The Los Angeles Chargers have played their way into another primetime appearance.

Justin Herbert & Co. have had their Week 16 home game against the Denver Broncos flexed from Sunday, December 22nd to Thursday night, December 19th. Friday’s announcement makes this the first time a game has been moved to Thursday night.

The league changed its policy last season to allow Thursday night games in Weeks 13 through 17 to be changed with at least 28 days’ notice prior to the game, and teams could make more than one appearance on Amazon Prime Video’s 16-game package. Only two matches per season in the five-week window can be flexed.

The showdown between the AFC West division rivals – both vying for playoff spots – moves the Cleveland Browns-Cincinnati Bengals game to Sunday afternoon.

Despite hiring Jim Harbaugh as coach, the Chargers were one of six teams without a Thursday game when the NFL schedule was released in May.

This is the second time the Chargers have been moved to prime time this season. Their 34-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last weekend was on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” after bumping the contest between 1 p.m. the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets.

Los Angeles, which is 7-3 and on a four-game winning streak, hosts Baltimore this week on “Monday Night Football” in the third game between brothers John and Jim Harbaugh as coaches.

The Chargers’ Dec. 8 game at Kansas City is also a Sunday night.

Denver (6-5) had a Thursday night game on Oct. 17, defeating the Saints 33-10 in coach Sean Payton’s return to New Orleans. The Broncos play Monday night against Cleveland on December 2nd.

“We’d rather be flexed in than flexed out,” Payton said after Friday’s practice. “… It’s a really good team (Chargers) that’s playing really well. And that negates Cincinnati who we play the following week … It is what it is. Just tell us when we play.”

The Chargers beat the Broncos 23-16 in Denver on Oct. 13. It was the game in which Harbaugh briefly went to the locker room due to an irregular heartbeat.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.