Ravens-Steelers game postponed to Tuesday

BALTIMORE — The Ravens’ game Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers has been postponed to Tuesday night, the NFL announced Friday.

The NFL’s decision comes amid a coronavirus outbreak in which at least a dozen Ravens players, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, and several staff members have reportedly tested positive in the past week.

With the postponement, the Ravens’ game Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys is also expected to change. If Tuesday’s game is held, the Ravens would host Dallas on Dec. 7, a Monday, with the game kicking off at 5 p.m. and broadcast nationally on Fox and NFL Network. The drawn-out schedule could allow for the return of several Ravens who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 or been deemed a “high-risk” close contact.

Kickoff on Tuesday night is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBC. It would be only the third game in the NFL’s modern era to be held on a Tuesday; the Philadelphia Eagles had a 2010 game against the Minnesota Vikings rescheduled because of a blizzard, and the Tennessee Titans had to play the Buffalo Bills on a Tuesday last month after their own coronavirus outbreak.

The team’s growing caseload has warped the NFL’s schedule over the past three days. On Wednesday, the NFL moved the Ravens-Steelers game from its Thanksgiving Day slot to Sunday afternoon in hopes that the outbreak would be contained. League officials have considered postponing games only as a last resort; Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, told the NFL Network on Wednesday that the NFL hoped to be past the “window of vulnerability” by this weekend. —