 That same year, in order to accommodate CBS's new contract to simulcast "Thursday Night Football", the network was given permission to air games with teams from either conference on Thursdays in a deal separate from its Sunday afternoon rights.From that year through 2016, CBS carried all-NFC contests every year on Thanksgiving, and in 2014 and 2015, no AFC teams played in any of the Thanksgiving games.It was initially unclear what mechanism was involved that allowed CBS to carry the NFC vs. NFC matchups; two separate articles on the NFL's official Web site gave conflicting possibilities, with one by Kevin Patra speculating that it was covered under the cross-flex rule and another by Gregg Rosenthal stating that, because the Thanksgiving matchup was on a Thursday, the cross-flex rule did not apply.