For the second straight week, the New England Patriots have had their scheduled Sunday afternoon game moved to Monday night, as the team deals with several positive cases of the coronavirus.The teams were informed late Thursday afternoon about the decision to move the game by the National Football League. The game is now scheduled to kickoff Monday at 5 p.m. in Foxborough, and will air nationally on ESPN and on broadcast TV in Boston. Last week it was Cam Newton, who tested positive two days before their match-up with Kansas City and was forced to sit out.This week, the Patriots’ facility was closed for most of the week after reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore joined Newton on the reserve/COVID-19 list along with practice-squad player Bill Murray.The team’s practice facility in Foxborough has remained closed since Newton’s case was first revealed on Saturday, forcing the Patriots to alter their game prep for this week’s matchup with Denver, holding virtual meetings and film study. “I think we knew at the beginning of the season that there were going to be challenges and there have been,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “We’re committed to working through them and that’s what we’re doing.”Broncos coach Vic Fangio said Thursday that he hadn’t heard anything about the game getting moved back and that his preference was to stick to Sunday.The status of both Newton and Gilmore for Sunday remains unclear, though Gilmore said in a post on Twitter that he wasn’t experiencing symptoms as of Wednesday.If Newton doesn’t play, the Patriots will have to choose between backups Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham. Both struggled against the Chiefs. Hoyer got pulled late in the third quarter following an interception and fumble. Stidham threw a touchdown pass but also had a pair of interceptions.Belichick was noncommittal on who might start if Newton is unavailable.“We’ll see how it goes,” Belichick said. “We’ll make a decision on that after we get more information on all those guys, starting with Cam.”The Bills-Titans game has been moved from Sunday to Tuesday night as long as Tennessee has no more positive tests for COVID-19 in the interim.The Titans’ outbreak increased to 23 Thursday with tight end MyCole Pruitt and a defensive back from the practice squad put on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday afternoon. The Titans’ facility remains closed with the team still prohibited from any in-person activities.An investigation by the NFL and the players’ association into how Tennessee turned into the league’s first COVID-19 outbreak found “several specific incidents” of the Titans possibly breaking protocols dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.Also, Tennessee was told players could not gather together for any in-person activities either at the club’s facility or elsewhere a day before several Titans worked out at a private school.Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. —
For the second straight week, the New England Patriots have had their scheduled Sunday afternoon game moved to Monday night, as the team deals with several positive cases of the coronavirus.
The teams were informed late Thursday afternoon about the decision to move the game by the National Football League, according to reports from multiple NFL sources.
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Last week it was Cam Newton, who tested positive two days before their match-up with Kansas City and was forced to sit out.
This week, the Patriots’ facility was closed for most of the week after reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore joined Newton on the reserve/COVID-19 list along with practice-squad player Bill Murray.
The team’s practice facility in Foxborough has remained closed since Newton’s case was first revealed on Saturday, forcing the Patriots to alter their game prep for this week’s matchup with Denver, holding virtual meetings and film study.
“I think we knew at the beginning of the season that there were going to be challenges and there have been,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “We’re committed to working through them and that’s what we’re doing.”
Broncos coach Vic Fangio said Thursday that he hadn’t heard anything about the game getting moved back and that his preference was to stick to Sunday.
The status of both Newton and Gilmore for Sunday remains unclear, though Gilmore said in a post on Twitter that he wasn’t experiencing symptoms as of Wednesday.
If Newton doesn’t play, the Patriots will have to choose between backups Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham. Both struggled against the Chiefs. Hoyer got pulled late in the third quarter following an interception and fumble. Stidham threw a touchdown pass but also had a pair of interceptions.
Belichick was noncommittal on who might start if Newton is unavailable.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Belichick said. “We’ll make a decision on that after we get more information on all those guys, starting with Cam.”
The Bills-Titans game has been moved from Sunday to Tuesday night as long as Tennessee has no more positive tests for COVID-19 in the interim.
The Titans’ outbreak increased to 23 Thursday with tight end MyCole Pruitt and a defensive back from the practice squad put on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday afternoon. The Titans’ facility remains closed with the team still prohibited from any in-person activities.
An investigation by the NFL and the players’ association into how Tennessee turned into the league’s first COVID-19 outbreak found “several specific incidents” of the Titans possibly breaking protocols dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, Tennessee was told players could not gather together for any in-person activities either at the club’s facility or elsewhere a day before several Titans worked out at a private school.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
