NFL postpones Steelers-Titans game
The National Football League has been one of the league’s least affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, having finished their season in February prior to the rest of North America’s professional sports leagues shutting down. However, on Wednesday the NFL was forced to postpone a game for the first time as a result of the pandemic.
The Pittsburgh Steelers-Tennessee Titans week four clash has been postponed because four players on the Titans tested positive for COVID-19. Nose tackle Daquan Jones, linebacker Kamalei Correa, long-snapper Beau Brinkley and tight end Tommy Hudson along with five personnel members from the organization all tested positive for the virus.
The league has not yet announced a new day and time for the game, but the league is looking to do so as soon as possible. Delaying the game will allow for the league to complete more tests on Tennessee to ensure no other players or personnel members test positive prior to taking the field against the Steelers. The game will likely be pushed back to Monday or Tuesday according to ESPN.
“I know there’s going to be a lot of questions about the game and about who’s to blame and where it started. Nobody’s to blame. We’re in a pandemic,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said following Wednesday’s announcement, via ESPN. “This is a very unfortunate situation, but one that we’re confident that we will be able to handle safely with the football team and the players’ best interests in mind.”
Both the Titans and Steelers are undefeated on the season with each team winning their first three games. While the circumstances are certainly not what either franchise envisioned heading into the contest, both sides refusing to let it derail the positive start they have had.
“It’s not ideal, but we have to find a way,” Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill said. “We have to be able to overcome adversity. It’s just a different type of adversity. We’ve done it throughout this season so far a few weeks in and showed our mental strength that we can find a way to win games, and this is just another challenge along that road.”
The Steelers are not playing the blame game either, as they shift focus and prepare for the cards that they have been dealt.
“We live one week at a time, and we’ve got an undefeated team that we’re scheduled to face at the end of this week,” Pittsburgh head coach Tomlin said on Wednesday when he discovered the news. “And so that’s kind of been our focus as we prepare today. It’s been a normal Wednesday for us. Some of the other hypotheticals we choose not to participate in, because we’re trying to be singularly, professionally focused in an effort to put our best foot forward when we step in the stadium against the Titans.”
The Titans currently sit in first place in the AFC South while the Steelers sit atop the AFC North. While it remains to be seen when exactly the game will be played, fans can rest assured that it will take place sooner than later.
