NFL Reschedules Ravens-Steelers Thursday Night Game: Report

Ben Roethlisbeger

Getty Ben Roethlisberger throws a pass against the Ravens in 2020.

The Baltimore Ravens were slated to hit the road on Thanksgiving Day to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the NFL will be delaying that game.

In the wake of a tough week with COVID-19, the league will be moving the Thursday night game to Sunday according to ESPN’s Dianna Russini via her sources. The news broke early on Wednesday afternoon with the teams preparing for their key AFC North showdown in the Steel City.

Now, the Ravens and Steelers will get an extra few days to rest up and get ready for the contest, which figures to be huge both in the AFC playoff race and in the AFC North race as well. A few weeks back, the Steelers came from behind to beat the Ravens on the road, and arguably, the team hasn’t been the same since. They lost again to the Tennessee Titans this past weekend in similar fashion.

Obviously, the health and safety of everyone on both sides is paramount in this situation, and the hope is that all those impacted in the Baltimore organization get well soon and make a full recovery and that the game can eventually go off without another hitch.


Ravens Had Serious COVID-19 Outbreak This Week

Earlier this week, the Ravens shut down their facility due to multiple folks testing positive for COVID-19 within the team. While it wasn’t known how many official positives there were or who specifically any of the players were, reports later surfaced a few of the players dealing with COVID-19 were running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram. More positives came for the Ravens late Tuesday, and with that news, it always seemed ambitious that the teams would be able to play with a quick turnaround this week. With this news, it’s clear that is not going to be the case.


Ravens Steelers Vital for AFC Playoff Race

Pittsburgh is a perfect 10-0 so far this season while the Ravens have scuffled to a 6-4 record. If the Steelers win this game, they will take complete command of the AFC North and arguably slam the door on both the Ravens and Browns as it relates to a comeback. For Baltimore, the Ravens need to keep winning in order to keep pace for the AFC playoff race. They are fighting the likes of the Titans, Colts, Browns and Raiders for playoff inclusion this year.

A win against the Steelers could go a long way toward helping push the Ravens forward in the playoff race, while a loss will only further complicate matters for the team as it relates to making the postseason. 7-4 would look a lot better on the ledger than 6-5, so that will be the goal for the Ravens when they do hit the field.

Baltimore is dealing with plenty of complicated matters, so the fact that they are poised to get a few more days to regroup in the wake of a crazy week seems ideal at this point in time.

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