▶ COVID-19 outbreaks among the Titans and Patriots lead to major schedule adjustments.
Nine teams affected by recent outbreaks with Titans and Patriots
The NFL has done major juggling to the regular-season schedule due to coronavirus outbreaks with the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots.
Nine teams are being affected, some over a period of weeks through Nov. 22: New England, Tennessee, Denver, Buffalo, Kansas City, Miami, the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets and Jacksonville.
Changes in bye weeks show Denver’s switching to this week from Week 8; New England’s from next week to this week; the Chargers’ from Week 10 to next week; the Dolphins’ from Week 10 to next week; Jacksonville’s from Week 7 to Week 8; and the Jets’ from Week 11 to Week 10.
“I mean, we know there are going to be issues — you do the best you can and if there’s a problem you shut things off and you make sure you isolate,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We did a pretty good job with all that. And as far as Buffalo, we know that things are going to happen, so you have to do that.”
Broncos coach Vic Fangio noted on a Zoom call that what’s occurring with the Titans and Patriots could happen to anyone.
There were no other positive COVID -19 tests Sunday.
Redskins: Joe Theismann didn’t cringe, but he was curious to see how Alex Smith would react to getting hit. Smith had been waiting a long time for this moment — and that contact.
He didn’t have to wait long after entering an NFL game for the first time since breaking his right leg in gruesome fashion 23 months ago. Following a standing ovation from his wife and children in the stands, he absorbed three sacks from Aaron Donald and six overall, got up each time and finished the game that Washington lost 30-10 to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
“The first one felt good,” Smith said. “It was obviously nice to know you’re fine, and it was nice to kind of knock the cobwebs off, so to speak.”
Smith, 36, completed his remarkable comeback 693 days after a broken tibia and fibula, 17 surgeries and a life-threatening infection put his career at risk. Watching on TV, Theismann — who broke his right leg in eerily similar fashion 33 years to the day before Smith’s injury — was impressed.
“The first time he stepped up in the pocket and I saw him move, I thought, ‘OK. He’s back,’” Theismann told The Associated Press by phone. “I think the question has been answered. He’s been sacked. He’s scrambled around a little bit. And in doing so, he’s answered the questions.”
Another question already answered is that Kyle Allen will start at quarterback next week at the New York Giants if healthy. Smith only got into the game Sunday — his first in uniform since the injury — because 2019 first-round pick Dwayne Haskins was benched and demoted to third on the depth chart and Allen injured his left arm on a hit late in the second quarter.
“If Kyle’s ready to go, Kyle will be our starter,” said coach Ron Rivera, who kept Allen on the sideline out of an abundance of caution and expects Smith to back up again.