Ravens coach John Harbaugh isn’t happy that his win-and-in Week 17 game was moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET. Falcons coach Dan Quinn, who had the same thing happen to his team, likes it.
“The later, the better for us,” Quinn told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Friday. “We’re pumped that it’s in the afternoon for us. We like that time slot, we like the night one as well.”
Unlike Harbaugh, who fears the later start will increase the number of no-shows, Quinn thinks the delayed kickoff will add to the atmosphere.
“It just has more juice and more energy the more the day goes on,” Quinn said. “We were thrilled to see it got moved back a little bit in time. We’ll get the fans there early and it’s going to be a hell of an environment. Every time you get to play in the division, it’s a lot of fun. And then now, with the stakes being even higher, you get to ramp it up even more.”
Panthers at Falcons was a prime candidate for an 8:30 p.m. ET start, but the league decided to have all of the games with playoff implications start at the same time. If Seattle had lost to Arizona and if the Saints had beaten the Buccaneers, the Panthers-Falcons game would have become meaningless -- and the ratings would have reflected it.