Giants, Jets will play at same time Sunday...again

The Jets and Giants did not play at the same time -- other than against each other -- in the regular season after one such day in 1984 until they did so in 2009 to avoid a conflict for Jets fans observing Yom Kippur.

Then it happened later in 2009 when the Giants and Eagles moved to 1 p.m. to avoid traffic and parking issues before a World Series game in Philadelphia, and again in Week 17 in 2012 and '13, and again Dec. 7 of this season.

Sunday will mark the third consecutive Week 17 in which it has occurred and sixth overall in the past six seasons.

What gives? For one thing the fact neither New York team will make the playoffs for the third year in a row, which has made their finales relatively unimportant. For another the increasing flexibility of TV schedules, including mixing and matching games regardless of network to maximize viewership.

For example: Don't look for the Panthers-Falcons NFC South showdown on Fox. It will be on CBS.

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.