The NFL is having to change things up big time during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the early portion of the season was pretty much virus-free around the NFL, recent outbreaks of COVID-19 have to be seen as concerning.
This forced the NFL to push Week 4’s game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs to Monday night after former NFL MVP Cam Newton tested positive for the virus. One day later, reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore also tested positive.
Related: NFL Week 5 injury report
It’s now going to impact this weekend’s NFL schedule.
NFL schedule: Week 5 game between Broncos and Patriots moved to Monday night
The good news here is that we get another doubleheader on “Monday Night Football.” It will be the third time in five weeks. Fans continue to push for this to become a permanent thing. However, there’s obviously bad news on this front, too.
Related: Week 5 NFL schedule, predictions
NFL schedule continues to be impacted by COVID-19
The Tennessee Titans’ Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was postponed for later in October after multiple members of the organization tested positive for the virus. Said outbreak now includes north of 20 individuals within the organization.
As for the Titans’ Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills, that’s not looking too great. The NFL is currently investigating the Titans for potentially breaking league-mandated protocols. Tennessee has not practiced all week and its facilities remain closed.
Despite all of this, the NFL is not considering moving the remainder of its 2020 schedule to bubble cities, much like what we saw with the NBA and NHL.
It remains to be seen if that’s going to be the case moving forward. Further outbreaks of COVID-19 could have a damaging impact on the remainder of the 2020 NFL season. This is just the latest example.
As for the Patriots, Newton and Gilmore are highly unlikely to be available this week. That obviously has an impact on competitive balance around the NFL as the league forges ahead with its schedule.