NFL should worry about the virus, not the schedule

Fans wait for the start of the NFL opening game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, in Kansas City, Mo. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

Every football play has one first read. It helps to clarify things for all involved. It sets precedent and priorities in the plan of attack.

The NFL hasn’t hit crisis level with COVID-19 cases affecting the season, but we’re heading in that direction — and yet the league has yet to determine what the first read will be going forward.

Will they chose to prioritize the safety of the players, staff and their families, as well as the community at large? Will they prioritize the completive balance and integrity of the 2020 season? Or will they prioritize getting all the games in as scheduled and having the Super Bowl awarded in the first week of February?

It seems perfectly clear that the latter is not an option. We are on the precipice of a league-wide outbreak if this keeps up.

After two days of no new positive tests, the Tennessee Titans have now announced two new ones. That now makes 23 positives going back to last week — 12 players and nine non-players. And as of Wednesday, the Titans could no longer open their facility as expected.

And of course, the Titans aren't alone. The Chiefs had a positive test last week and Las Vegas had one of their own this week.

Meanwhile, in New England, Stephon Gilmore — the 2019 defensive player of the year — has now tested positive. There have been three positive tests for the Patriots since Cam Newton tested positive. That is three Patriots players testing positive in five days if you’re scoring at home.

In Week 4, two games were affected. While the Patriots and Chiefs ended up just getting bumped from Sunday to Monday, the Titans and Steelers’ game was rescheduled for Week 7. This week, three more are in jeopardy: Bills vs. Titans, Raiders vs. Chiefs, and Broncos vs. Patriots. And this seems far from the end of the disruptions:

The completive imbalance created by this is already a massive issue. The undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers had a bye forced upon them early in the season, and wasted half of it prepping for an opponent they won’t play for weeks. The undefeated Chiefs have had to prepare in back-to-back weeks not knowing for certain which day they’ll be playing, if they’ll play at all.

The undefeated Titans, who are being investigated for their part in creating this mess, now might be forced to forfeit a game. And that could impact the game cheques of players on yet another undefeated team, the Bills, who they’re scheduled to play next:

The NFL knew COVID-19 would be a factor. That’s why they increased team practice squads to 16 players and added flexibility on the injured reserve list. But why did they think they could play the same number of games in the same time span as normal?

The league refused to shrink the schedule or create a bubble like the NHL, NBA and WNBA did, and opted to add crowds into the mix. And all that as temperatures cool and case numbers rise.

Yes, the league created protocols, but some teams simply haven’t followed them. Las Vegas Raiders players attended a fundraiser without masks. Titans players gathered to practise at a high school when their facility was closed and they were supposed to be quarantined.

The NFL itself, meanwhile, put the Patriots in a game against the Chiefs 48 hours after one of their players tested positive.

It’s not like nobody is taking this seriously. Patrick Mahomes is sleeping in a separate room from his pregnant fiancé. That’s how much a threat this virus is. So why was he allowed to play on a field full of players who had recently been exposed to the virus? After the game, Mahomes even shook hands with and embraced Gilmore, who would test positive mere days later.

The NFL banned the post-game exchange of jerseys because of the threat of the virus, but hugs are allowed?

This is not a recipe for success.

Of course, all of this was to be expected with no vaccine ready and no bubble in place. The NFL should have predicted this scenario. The only thing that’s changed since the inception of the virus is the availability of testing.

But testing is a monitoring tool, not a prevention tool. It won’t help you stay clear of the virus if you don’t take further precautions.

What makes this worse — and less acceptable — is the NFL had blueprints to work with when making decisions. MLB cut its season by almost two third, didn’t have fans and brought in their own version of a bubble for the post-season. The NBA and NHL didn’t even complete their regular seasons, even though they were close.

To be clear, the NFL can extend the time frame of the season if they so choose to ensure a full 16 games. The only thing stopping them is them.

Every team has its own stadium now that the Raiders have moved into their new place in Las Vegas, so no one will will have to fight for availability. Media and fans might not be travelling to the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay at this rate, so does it matter which weekend the game is played?

The league could add another bye week to alleviate the scheduling burden that postponing games has created. Doing so would also help with the rash of injuries we’ve seen thus far in part due to the lack of a proper pre-season.

And if changing the length of the season on the fly sounds like a logistical nightmare, what do you call what we’re doing now? It's changing the schedule on the fly while quickly running out of bye weeks to make it work.

More importantly: What’s the downside?

If the Super Bowl is pushed back a couple of weeks — or even until March or April — will you lose even a single viewer? And if you really want it to stay in February, then all you have to do is be willing to play 12 or 14 regular-season games to make that feasible. As long as everyone plays the same amount of games, the completive-balance issues are negligible.

On top of that, shortening the season and putting teams in organization-specific hotel bubbles should be on the table if health is the ultimate goal.

But something has to give. Because as one month of play has shown, you have to bend your sport around COVID-19 because COVID-19 won’t bend to accommodate your sport.

When submitting content, please abide by our  submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.
We use cookies to improve your experience. Learn More or change your cookie preferences. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies.
close