Scheduling havoc
The difficulty for coach John Harbaugh’s Ravens in containing a viral outbreak prompt the NFL to reschedule their game at Pittsburgh to Wednesday afternoon.
The Ravens’ struggle to contain an extended outbreak of the coronavirus forced their rescheduled game Tuesday night against the unbeaten Steelers to be moved back to Wednesday afternoon.
It’s the third fix to a matchup originally slated to be played Thanksgiving night. The game will remain on NBC, but at 3:40 p.m. ET.
Also, the Steelers’ home game in Week 13 against Washington was moved from Sunday to Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. The Ravens’ home game against the Cowboys will be on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 8:05 p.m. on Fox and NFL Network. It was originally set for Thursday night, then moved to Dec. 7.
Ravens-Steelers was moved back one more day for medical reasons, but now the Ravens get some time for workouts. The NFL permitted the Ravens to return to their facility on Monday night under doctors’ supervision, which is similar to what happened when the Titans had an outbreak earlier this season.
The NFL announced the most recent switches Monday after the Ravens placed starters Matthew Judon, Willie Snead and Mark Andrews on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The contest pitting two longtime rivals was originally scheduled for Thanksgiving night before a rash of coronavirus cases among the Ravens forced the game to be postponed to Sunday. As the Ravens continued to stack up positive tests, the game was moved back to Tuesday night.
Now, perhaps, they’ll meet on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.
Also Monday, the 49ers announced that they will play two home games in Arizona after new coronavirus regulations put in place by officials in Santa Clara County, California, forced the team to find a temporary new home.
The 49ers host the Bills next Monday night and Washington on Dec. 13 at State Farm Stadium, home of the Cardinals, because they can’t practice or play games at Levi’s Stadium for three weeks.
The team said it will have information on practice arrangements later.