The NFL's decision to simulcast the Giants-Patriots game on NBC, CBS and the NFL Network was a fantastic development for football fans. But it's also a surprising one: The league appeared perfectly willing to use the historic game as a bargaining chip in efforts to convince cable companies to carry the NFL Network or give it wider distribution.

With the Patriots looking to be the first team ever to go 16-0, it will be a long time before we see a regular season game of this magnitude. And the NFL will likely never have as much leverage in their negotiations.

From a pure business standpoint, the NFL may regret having blinked first here. It's hard to see the cable companies budging now. But the league will win the public relations battle, which is not an insignificant consideration. (No company wants to be viewed as more evil than cable companies.) The Giants-Patriots game will likely go down as the most-watched regular season football game in league history, and it will be interesting to see whether cable companies continue to insist that the NFL Network's product isn't worth the 70 cents per subscriber that the NFL is asking.

The NFL may have lost some leverage by deciding to simulcast the Patriots game, but it will gain some exposure for its network. (Chances are, the game broadcast will feature a small graphic with the words "call your cable operator.") And with ratings likely to be off the charts, everyone will be making money here.

The NFL may not have won the war with cable companies yet, and in fact it may appear the league retreated a bit. But the league also won a few battles that could pay dividends down the road.

Let's just hope that Belichick and Coughlin don't sit their starters.