The NFL announced Wednesday that it would set the Thanksgiving triple header to double header due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In a statement, the NFL said the Baltimore Ravens match scheduled for Thursday night with the Pittsburgh Steelers will be postponed to Sunday. This decision was made with extreme caution to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day staff, and in consultation with medical experts. The game will be played at 1:15 p.m., and will remain on NBC and broadcast nationwide.
Shortly after the news appeared, the Ravens issued a notice thanking you for the championship.
“We appreciate the NFL for working diligently with us to ensure the well-being of the players, coaches and staff of the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. Protecting the health and safety of individual teams outside our community will continue to be followed by the NFL and its medical experts. while focusing on safely preparing for Sunday’s game. ”
The Ravens are dealing with at least 10 positive COVID-19 tests between players and staff, and it was known before that Mark Ingram and JK Dobbins will be left without their two best runners-up. According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Networkthe Ravens would also have been severely restricted on the offensive line if they had indeed played on Thursday. ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports that seven players have achieved positive results in the past three days, most recently Pernell McPhee, Trace McSorley, Matt Skura, Patrick Mekari and Calais Campbell. Of course, these seven players will not be available on Thursday as Graziano notes, the league is working to identify and assess the close links between those infected players, and it is possible that these close links could have been ruled out as well. The NFL wanted to play the game as planned, but had to make the change with health and safety in mind.
Several Steelers players on Twitter have expressed displeasure over the league’s decision, but Commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t have many choices. Now, only on Thanksgiving Day, they play Houston Texans for the Detroit Lions team, which is scheduled to start at 12:30 at CBS, and the Washington Football Team for the Dallas Cowboys, which are preparing to kick. It starts at 16:30 on Fox.
