- The Week 12 game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers has been rescheduled from Sunday to Tuesday.
- Baltimore at least 12 players on the reserve/COVID-19 including 8 starters.
- The Ravens/Steelers game was originally rescheduled from Thursday due to the Baltimore COVID-19 issues.
Although the Baltimore Ravens’ COVID-19 outbreak hasn’t improved the NFL appears determined to get their Week 12 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the books no matter what. As a result, the game has been rescheduled for a third time–this time moved from Sunday to Tuesday. This will put the game back in prime time where it was when it was supposed to be played on Thanksgiving Night. The game will now start at 5 PM Pacific/8 PM Eastern and be broadcast on NBC.
What isn’t clear is what the NFL expects to change in the 48 hours (give or take a few) between the previously scheduled time and the new time. Obviously, the league would love to get the game into prime time but the more salient question is whether or not it should be played at all. The Ravens are already without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson and a number of other starters. Here’s CBS Sports’ rundown of the carnage:
The Ravens’ positive cases include Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram, J.K. Dobbins, Pernell McPhee, Trace McSorley, Matt Skura, Patrick Mekari and Calais Campbell. Several more Ravens players are expected to be included with Jackson on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday. The Ravens, who cannot re-enter their facility until Monday, have disciplined a staff member who may have broken COVID-19 protocols.
Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh released a statement on Friday taking a ‘show must go on’ approach. More than likely, he’d get fined by the league if he did anything else:
“We appreciate the efforts of the NFL and Pittsburgh Steelers throughout this process, while we all work to create an environment that keeps the health and safety of everyone involved at the forefront of each decision. Our organization has a plan in place, and we will be prepared to play the Steelers. We thank everyone for their adaptability and look forward to the challenge of facing a very good football team at Heinz Field on Tuesday night.”
The Steelers also have three players on the reserve/COVID-19 list — defensive end Stephon Tuitt, defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins.
Despite the apparent plan to play the game on Tuesday night the NFL *did* acknowledge the severity of the league’s current COVID-19 outbreak. The NFL announced that all in-person team activities will be prohibited this Monday and Tuesday (November 30 and December 1). The move is a proactive one with the rationale that players and staff may have traveled to family gatherings (or hosted the same) over Thanksgiving. The hope is that they’ll be able to catch any new infections before they spread throughout team facilities. The prohibition on ‘in person’ activities doesn’t include actual games:
There’s at least one immediate scheduling issue brought about by all of this. The Dallas Cowboys are scheduled to play at Baltimore on Thursday, December 3. It’s highly unlikely that this game will be played as originally scheduled given the short turnaround time.
