Will Monday’s COVID-19 results send the Ravens-Steelers to week 18?

Tuesday night’s rescheduled game between the Ravens and Steelers continues. Will that be the case later today?

The NFL blocked the Ravens from leading a tour on Monday morning. It could still happen at 5 p.m. ET (by Albert Breer of SI.com).

It is not a time chosen at random. Until then, the league and the Ravens will know if other players have tested positive. Given the decision to delay the practice until these results appear, it is safe to assume that other positive aspects will likely block the intended practice.

So the question is, will the league take the plug from the game?

Most assume that if postponed again, the Ravens-Steelers would become the long-awaited Week 18 opener of the regular season. The NFL has strongly resisted this possibility, as sending a game to Week 18 removes the potential safety net for the remainder of the season when it comes to the two teams scheduled to play in Week 18. .

What if the Bills or Steelers have a problem next week and their Sunday night Week 13 game can’t be played? Is it just canceled, since the Steelers already have a game on the schedule for Week 18? Or does the league ultimately organize the “better” or “more impactful” game, choosing between the Ravens-Steelers and the Steelers-Bills?

This is a potential box of worms that shouldn’t be resolved by simply taking a first in, first out approach. Why should the Ravens-Steelers have priority over the Steelers-Bills or the Ravens-Browns, if one of those games can’t be played?

This is surely one of the reasons the league has taken a “fucking torpedo” approach to playing games. The current problem, however, is that a torpedo can still point towards the Ravens’ hull in Steelers.

According to a league source, the Ravens are starting to sense that the NFL has two camps. Science versus sport. Some are inclined to play it safe, and others are inclined to conclude that it is safe to continue.

Monday’s PCR test results for the Ravens hover over such an internal debate. If they’re clean, that will surely be the game (unless the Tuesday morning samples give positive results by the end of Tuesday afternoon). If they aren’t clean, Tuesday’s game could be postponed to week 18 – perhaps with the warning that, based on other developments over the next five weekends, the game might not. be played at all.