World News – US – Steelers / Titans’ COVID crisis is a reminder fans shouldn’t take the season for granted

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Just as we started to get used to the 2020 Steelers regular season, Coronavirus reared its ugly head to remind us not to take its completion for granted

On Tuesday, it was revealed that several members of the Tennessee Titans, including players and staff, had tested positive for COVID-19

Speculation has started to run rampant over how the NFL will handle its first major COVID crisis Should the Steelers game in Tennessee on Sunday afternoon be postponed? Would the match be moved to Monday or Tuesday evening? Would the Titans, who faced the Vikings in Week 3, also jeopardize Minnesota’s Week 4 game against the Texans? Would the weeks off for the four teams be reshuffled? Should Tennessee just give up? What if the Titans did, would that be fair? Yes? No? OK, but would it be fair for Pittsburgh to have to play 13 straight regular season games if his leave suddenly came on Sunday and not a bit later in the season?

As of this writing – and this stuff is hour by hour in an unprecedented world and sporting moments like this – the Steelers / Titans tilt will take place on Monday or Tuesday night, while the Vikings , who have not had any positive player tests for the virus, is still set to face Houston this weekend

If this is the result of the league’s first major COVID crisis, kudos to the NFL for handling things on the fly without major disruption of the Steelers, Titans, Vikings and Texans seasons

But what happens with a second or third major COVID crisis? What if a bye cannot be rewritten because a team has already used it? Guess the NFL could move their playoffs back a week or so to make up for games that were postponed to the end of the year. However, as I said before, the NFL only has a limited number of emergency balls in their chamber to shoot in an emergency – you can’t play doubles in football.

Either way, this first major COVID crisis is a stark reminder that the completion of the 2020 NFL regular season cannot be taken for granted.I don’t blame you if you started doing this I was there with you until Tuesday morning when the news of the Titans started I had long stopped worrying about a COVID crisis in the NFL and started to wonder if and when the Steelers fans would be allowed to return to Heinz Field To be honest I didn’t care about that I quickly get used to watching the Steelers and all the other NFL teams play games without fans in the stands I focused on the $ 34 million elbow of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger being surgically repaired and how he was starting to look like the Big Ben of the mid-2010s I was enjoying the increased production of an offense that probably hadn’t even caught on its pace

As for the defense, while they weren’t hitting all cylinders yet, that front seven, that pressure on the quarterback… man, what a rush!

More than anything else, I focused on the Steelers leaving 3-0 and the refreshing contrast to all the debuts they’ve had in a decade.

But here we are, back to reality Don’t get me wrong, I’m still focused on all the good that has been the 2020 Steelers campaign, so far However, I now have a little bit of fear regarding the 13 last games of the regular season and whether Pittsburgh will be able to play them all

And what about the playoffs? Can you imagine the playoffs postponed to spring? Yikes

Well, I don’t want to be too downcast I think the NFL is doing the right thing with its reaction to the Titans’ positive tests I’m also confident that the regular season and playoffs will be played out in their entirety

Having all of this, however, this little scare is a sobering reminder to stay vigilant Players and coaches should remain vigilant and continue to take precautions in their non-football lives

As for the fans, we also have to stay on our toes You never know when reality is going to strike with a blind tackle and remind us that these are truly unprecedented times

Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL, Steelers-Titans rivalry, Coronavirus