The Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game has been postponed again. On Friday, the NFL announced the AFC North matchup would not be played on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. ET due to COVID-19 concerns. The game is now set for Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.
Because of this move, the Ravens’ game against the Dallas Cowboys set for Thursday, Dec. 3, will now be played on Monday, Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. ET. It will air on FOX, NFL Network and Amazon Prime Video. “These decisions were made out of an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts,” the NFL said in a statement.
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According to ESPN, the Ravens are dealing with a coronavirus outbreak as at least 12 players have tested positive for the virus, including reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. Jackson will not play on Tuesday as he will need to quarantine for 10 days, which leads to Robert Griffin III getting the start. It will be his second start in the last four years. The Ravens team facility is currently closed, and coach John Harbaugh told his players on Thursday night they wouldn’t; be allowed to return until Monday at the earliest. The Ravens closed the facility on Tuesday, and the team has been having virtual meetings ever since.
Per ESPN, the outbreak started on Nov. 19, when a strength and conditioning coach tested positive. He didn’t report any symptoms and didn’t always wear a mask at the facility. On Nov. 22, running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins tested positive for virus hours after the team’s 30-24 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans. From there, the team added players to the reserve/COVID-19 list throughout the week, and Jackson, as well as three other players, tested positive on Thursday.
“We all knew that us playing football would put us at a bigger risk,” Ravens linebacker Matthew Judon said. “We knew we [could] obviously get the virus, and we all knew that this wasn’t something to be played around with.” This is the third time in the Super Bowl era that an NFL game will be played on Tuesday. It happened earlier this year (Week 5) when the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans game was postponed due to an outbreak in Tennessee.
