The Green Bay Packers will host the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field in Week 10 with one significant change.
Several flights ended up postponed or cancelled after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a full ground stop across the United States that lasted for roughly four hours on Friday, November 13 due to a telecommunications breakdown that impacted every air traffic control tower in the country.
In response to the aftermath of a nearly unprecedented halt to American air travel, the NFL made several adjustments including to its officiating schedules. Namely, the league reassigned referees to games close enough to their places of residence that the officials will be able to drive to their assignments and avoid airports altogether, per ESPN.
Kevin Seifert of ESPN took to social media on Saturday to explain what that will mean for the Vikings’ showdown with the Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
Miami at Indianapolis (1 p.m. ET) Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (8:20 p.m. ET)
Vikings-Packers referee has changed from John Hussey to Clete Blakeman.
How significant is the NFL’s officiating shuffle? Backup referee Don Willard will work TWO games on Sunday:
Miami at Indianapolis (1 p.m. ET)
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (8:20 p.m. ET)Vikings-Packers referee has changed from John Hussey to Clete Blakeman.
Vikings’ Travel to Green Bay Should Not Prove Issue
The FAA lifted the ground stop as of Friday evening, after which air travel slowly got underway again across the country.
Several sports teams made changes to their itineraries, including in the college ranks, which led the NCAA to reschedule some contests to different times.
The Vikings-Packers contest was always in less danger of changing given that Minneapolis is between a 4-5 hour drive from Green Bay. Had it proven necessary, the Vikings could have chartered a few busses and driven east on Interstate 94 on Saturday to get to the game in plenty of time.
That certainly would have been an extra layer of disadvantage to Minnesota, but it appears that the Vikings will be able to fly to Green Bay as planned for the NFC North Division showdown this weekend.
NFL Announces Significant Alteration Before Packers’ Game vs. Vikings