The COVID-19 outbreak in Baltimore has led the NFL to postpone the Baltimore Ravens–Pittsburgh Steelers game for a second time.
The Ravens will now play at the undefeated Steelers on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET, the NFL announced.
Baltimore was scheduled to play host to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, but that game has also been moved, to Monday, Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. ET.
This is the third time in the Super Bowl era that an NFL game will be played on Tuesday. It happened in Week 5 this season when the Bills-Titans game was postponed because of a coronavirus outbreak in Tennessee. It also occurred in 2010 when a blizzard in Philadelphia shifted an Eagles-Vikings game.
The Ravens and Steelers were originally scheduled to play on Thanksgiving night. The NFL moved the game to Sunday after several Ravens players had tested positive in consecutive days.
At least 12 Ravens players have tested positive for COVID-19, including reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. With Jackson quarantining for 10 days, Robert Griffin III will start against Pittsburgh. It’s his second start in the past four years.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh told his players on Thursday that they wouldn’t be allowed to return to the team facility until Monday at the earliest due to safety concerns, a source said.
The Ravens have had only two days of walk-throughs this week. Baltimore has been limited to virtual meetings since its team facility was closed on at noon Tuesday.
The Steelers canceled practice on Friday as they awaited clarification from the NFL. Coach Mike Tomlin also canceled Thursday’s practice, but the team is expected to practice on Saturday. The Steelers were last on the field together Wednesday.
This isn’t the first time the Steelers have dealt with shifting schedules this season. In Week 4, the Steelers-Titans game was initially postponed from Sunday to “either Monday or Tuesday” of that week as the Titans fought to control their own COVID-19 outbreak. The league eventually pushed the game back even more, rearranging the schedule for the Steelers and Titans to play Week 7 and the Steelers to face the Ravens in Week 8. With the shuffle, the Steelers’ bye moved from Week 8 to Week 4.
ESPN’s Brooke Pryor contributed to this report.
Source : ESPN
