BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 01: Running back James Conner #30 of the Pittsburgh Steelers (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
The Ravens-Steelers game originally scheduled for Thursday night then rescheduled for Sunday night will now be played on Tuesday.
The COVID-19 pandemic is starting to ravage the Baltimore Ravens, as a rampant outbreak at their facility forced a Thanksgiving game between John Harbaugh’s 6-4 Ravens and Mike Tomlin’s 10-0 Pittsburgh Steelers to be postponed. Luckily for both AFC North contenders, this division matchup will be played, albeit at an unusual time in the middle of the week.
Adam Schefter confirmed that the COVID-19 outbreak in Baltimore has forced this game to be postponed until Tuesday. This will be the second Tuesday game this season, in addition to the Titans-Bills matchup in Week 5 and only the third Tuesday game in NFL history.
This decision likely means Baltimore’s Week 13 TNF game against the Dallas Cowboys will be moved to Monday.
The Ravens and Steelers are trending in opposite directions
The Steelers are riding high right now, as their perfect season has landed the league’s best defense and fourth-best offense in terms of points per game. Baltimore, meanwhile, is struggling at 6-4, as offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s lack of creativity is being identified as the biggest problem in Baltimore.
The Ravens will go into this game with several stars on the COVID-19 list, most notably star quarterback Lamar Jackson as well as running backs JK Dobbins and Mark Ingram. While Dobbins and Ingram could theoretically play if they keep testing negative, Jackson might face an uphill battle, meaning backup Robert Griffin III might be in line to start against Minkah Fitzpatrick, T.J. Watt, and a Steelers defense that will show him no mercy.
Playing this game on Tuesday prevents the league from hitting the nuclear button and expanding the playoffs while falling backward into another unchallenged primetime spot featuring two of the league’s biggest rivals. The league appears to have made the best out of a bad situation.