But its not about giving the Patriots more time to prepare with Brian Hoyer at quarterback, as if the league workplace would ever do the Patriots any favors. Its about keeping an eye on the Patriots (and also the Chiefs, offered that practice-squad quarterback Jordan Taamu likewise evaluated favorable) for additional positives that would constitute a Titans-style outbreak.
What about last weeks Bears-Falcons game, which wasnt held off when cornerback A.J. Terrell generated a positive test on Saturday? The game likely would have been held off if the Falcons had actually returned any positive tests on Sunday early morning.
Heres the other difference– the Titans outbreak hadnt happened as of a week ago. The constant stream of Tennessee positives in current days has exposed the donut hole in the NFLs COVID procedures: The incubation duration. Personnel who are predestined to check positive dont test favorable immediately, and theres a chance that Cadillac-level PCR testing, which still has a 24-hour turn-around, will not flag a player or other staff member as positive before he or she starts shedding virus and exposing others, who in turn wont check favorable for numerous days and might shed infection before a positive test is verified.
The Patriots and Chiefs might use Monday or Tuesday night is no additional positives emerge on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. The Patriots undoubtedly wont have Newton for the game, if its played today. Certainly, the very best tactical outcome for the Patriots would consist of the video game being bumped to Week 18, a really possible if not unavoidable location for video games that are delayed and cant easily be dropped into bye weeks.
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Some within league circles have actually wondered aloud why the Patriots captured a break from the NFL, with the news that starting quarterback Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19 leading to a post ponement of Sundays video game versus the Chiefs– a video game in which the Pats were a seven-point underdog with Newton in lineup.
