Scott Taetsch/Getty Images Quarterback Robert Griffin III of the Baltimore Ravens takes a hit from outside linebacker Bud Dupree of the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 29, 2019.
The second half of the home-and-home series between the Baltimore Ravens (6-4) and Pittsburgh Steelers (10-0) has now been postponed three times … and counting.
A game that looked like one of the premier matchups of the 2020 season—originally set to take place in primetime, on Thanksgiving night—had to be moved to this past Sunday afternoon in the wake of a COVID-19 outbreak among the Ravens. As Baltimore’s outbreak worsened—and a handful of new COVID-19 cases emerged in Pittsburgh—the game was postponed to Tuesday night. Now Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that the game has been moved to Wednesday, with the kickoff scheduled for 3:40 p.m. ET, according to Ravens broadcaster Gerry Sandusky.
The NFL hasn’t yet relayed specific reasons for postponing the game a third time. The fact that the Ravens have had nine straight days with at least one positive test (per Jamison Hensley of The Athletic) is no doubt at the top of the list. But Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says that “a new fear” emerged on Tuesday: that the Ravens would refuse to play unless the game was moved yet again.
“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, there are concerns of a potential wildcat strike by the Ravens,” offered Florio, who went on to note that “some believe the threat of a … strike will result in the Ravens-Steelers game being nudged to Wednesday or possibly Thursday. If the game is moved again, Pittsburgh’s Week 13 game against Washington would then move to Monday, at the earliest,” Florio concluded.
As it turns out, that’s exactly what happened, with the Washington-Pittsburgh game (originally slated for Sunday December 6th) moved to Monday December 7th, this according to NFL reporter Albert Breer. Kickoff time for Washington-Pittsburgh is TBD. The Steelers are currently scheduled to play three games in a span of 12 days.
Pittsburgh Steelers COVID-19 Update
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has not added any players to its Reserve/COVID-19 list since it placed No. 1 running back James Conner on the list on Saturday. (Conner has reportedly tested positive for the virus). A day earlier the Steelers added three players to the list, those being defensive end Stephon Tuitt, offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins and defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs, but Buggs has already been removed, along with rookie offensive guard Kevin Dotson.
As of late Monday afternoon, Pittsburgh had three players on its Reserve/COVID-19 list and five players on its injured reserve list.
If Ravens-Steelers is played on Wednesday, it will be the first NFL game to take place on a Wednesday since the 2012 season-opener.
Ravens-Steelers will be first NFL game played on Wednesday since the 2012 season opener between the Cowboys and Giants, which was scheduled for that day to avoid a conflict with President Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, which occurred on that Thursday
Baltimore Ravens COVID-19 Update
But it’s not a good sign that Baltimore had to add four more players to its COVID-19 list on Monday afternoon, including tight end Mark Andrews, outside linebacker Matthew Judon and wide receiver Willie Snead IV. The Ravens also added cornerback Terrell Bonds to the Reserve/COVID-19 list Monday, but Bonds was already on season-ending injured reserve.
The Ravens did get some good news, though, insofar as outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson, guard D.J. Fluker, defensive tackle Broderick Washington and defensive back Iman Marshall were removed from the team’s COVID-19 Reserve list.
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