NFL moving Patriots-Broncos game to Monday night feels horribly wrong
It seems the NFL is trying to force Patriots-Broncos after doing the same with Patriots-Chiefs.
The New England Patriots were originally scheduled to face the Denver Broncos at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, but Stephon Gilmore’s positive COVID-19 case on Wednesday turned everything upside down.
The Patriots were forced to cancel practice on Wednesday and Thursday as a result, and while they could get Cam Newton back this week after he missed Monday’s game vs the Kansas City Chiefs due to his positive diagnosis, the team will be without Gilmore in addition to having a lack of preparation for Denver due to their wildly shortened week.
Now, the NFL has opted to move this game to Monday at 5:00 p.m. ET and it feels like the league hasn’t learned a thing.
Broncos have been informed their game against New England will be moved from Sunday to Monday night per source. It will be early Monday night game. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) October 8, 2020
Did Gilmore’s positive test not teach them anything about the potential dangers of the incubation period? Not only that, but this outbreak situation has been an ongoing issue with the Patriots, so why not just give them the week off after the disadvantages they had to deal with last week, in addition to them potentially putting another team in danger?
The NFL wasted no time postponing the Steelers-Titans game because it worked conveniently from a scheduling standpoint. Now it’s not so easy to make adjustments when it comes to the Patriots, so the league is just going to force it?
Attached are the rules for asymptomatic players returning off of the COVID list.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) October 8, 2020
Cam Newton tested positive Oct. 2. The Broncos-Patriots game is Oct. 12.
Unless I'm an idiot, it seems possible Newton could return by Monday night? pic.twitter.com/EfRwmOUCuT
And there are separate rules for asymptomatic players, which just doesn’t feel safe. Isn’t the whole danger in regards to COVID-19 with those who aren’t showing symptoms and spreading it to others? We’ve heard from medical experts countless times that a negative test doesn’t mean you’re completely out of the woods.
But come on, you know the NFL. The show goes on. It didn’t bat an eye when the pandemic hit and absolutely nothing has changed since then. The schedule will only be altered minimally if teams are hit with uncontrollable COVID outbreaks, like what we’ve seen with the Titans. There are fans attending games.
Teams being disadvantaged because of one or two cases? You’ll just have to change your travel plans, miss multiple practices before that week’s game, and go about your normal routine in a completely different manner. Not a problem. Deal with it, we guess!
