The NFL announced Saturday morning that it has flexed the Week 18 matchup between the Vikings and Bears to a more appropriate spot: off the schedule completely.

“When we announced the 17-week schedule coming into this season, we focused exclusively about the money-making opportunities,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Now that we are living through it, it’s clear to see we also should have also thought about the fans for the first time ever.”

Added Goodell: “We never asked ourselves if it is really fair to put the fans through an extra week of meaningless football games led by coaches who are almost sure to be fired the minute the season ends.”

Goodell seaid that fans who had tickets for Sunday’s game in Minnesota will receive a full refund. Those who planned to watch the game are encouraged to “rethink their priorities before it’s too late.”

Goodell said the league was looking at flexing the Washington-NY Giants game off the schedule but decided against it: “Those two fanbases deserve an extra week of punishment.”

hecklerbrad