Steelers-Titans game has been postponed. Here are two rescheduling options.
There’s one fewer game on the NFL schedule this weekend.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there were two more positive tests on the Titans team, so the league is rescheduling Tennessee’s game against the Steelers.
The two more positive tests this morning brings the total to 11 within the Titans’ organization - five players and six other employees, including some defensive assistant coaches. https://t.co/xLDB3axJ0C
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 1, 2020
On Thursday morning, the NFL made it official:
Update on the @Steelers/@Titans game from the @NFL. pic.twitter.com/KkO4rEKKkq
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) October 1, 2020
The game had been scheduled to kickoff at noon. But after the first positive COVID tests earlier this week, there was talk of moving the game to Monday or Tuesday.
So what happens next? Pittsburgh’s bye is in Week 8 and Tennessee’s is in Week 7, so it won’t be as easy as moving the game to a mutual day off.
The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweeted: “One option the NFL is considering is rearranging the schedule in coming weeks and turning this week into, in essence, the Titans’ bye week. That also would cause a ripple effect for the Steelers and other teams. Lot of moving parts.”
There are at least a couple of options for the NFL.
Paul Kuharsky, who writes about the Titans, suggested making this weekend the bye week and having the Baltimore Ravens move one of their games.
Best reschedule scenario:
Move #Steelers at #Ravens from Week 7 to Week 8, when they now have byes.
Plug #Steelers-#Titans into Week 7, when #Titans have bye. Oct. 25.— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 29, 2020
If #Steelers-#Titans is moved to Week 7 and #Steelers-#Ravens to Week 8 as is the popular scenario, TEN and PIT will play 13 consecutive weeks barring any further COVID troubles involving either team.
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) October 1, 2020
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell offered a suggestion that could help this weekend and going forward if any other teams run into similar COVID-19 troubles.
A suggestion:
Get rid of the week off after the Conference Championship games
Push the first three rounds of the playoffs back a week
Play any regular season games which need to get postponed in Week 18— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) September 29, 2020