It might be the nastiest matchup in the NFL, but by Week 16, the Steelers - Bengals game might not be the most intriguing one.

According to a story by Newsday.com, Pittsburgh's Sunday Night Football game against the home standing Bengals might be rescheduled for an earlier kickoff in favor of the Giants' home game against the Lions.

The reason why NBC might make the change is simple: New York and Detroit are a combined 15-7 record thus far, while the Lions are first place in the NFC North with the Giants currently second behind the Cowboys in the NFC East. The Steelers, despite being in a tie for first place in the AFC North, is 6-5, while Cincinnati is struggling through a 3-7-1 campaign.

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The real indicator determining whether a change will take place is what happens over the next three weeks. If New York and Detroit keep winning (and conversely, the Bengals continue losing), the Bengals will likely might miss out on hosting its second prime time game against the Steelers this calendar year. But if the Bengals can somehow get on a winning streak, coupled with some Giants and Lions' losses, the Cincinnati will get their night game against one of their divisional rivals.

On Sunday, the Steelers will look to help their own cause but defeating the Giants while also keeping pace with the Ravens in the battle for AFC North division title.

After the two teams' epic battle in the AFC wild card game, it's hard to believe that the Steelers - Bengals game would even be in consideration for being moved off of its prime time slate. But in the world of the NFL, the only way to remain relevant is to remain competitive, as Cincinnati continues to struggle in that department 11 games into the 2016 season.