NFL postpones Steelers-Titans game until Monday or Tuesday

A Week 4 matchup between division leaders and unbeaten AFC teams could take place Monday night. Tuesday is a possibility, too.

What is certain is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game at the Tennessee Titans won’t happen Sunday afternoon as scheduled.

The NFL announced Wednesday the game was postponed “to allow additional time for further daily covid-19 testing and to ensure the health and safety of the players, coaches and game day personnel.”

The postponement came on a day when a fourth Titans player tested positive for covid-19. Three players and five staff members tested positive Tuesday, causing the NFL to consider alternative dates for the game, which was scheduled at 1 p.m. Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

The NFL said a new date and time would be determined “as soon as possible.”

“Right now, there is a strong possibility that it’s Monday,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday afternoon. “That has been our focus as we prepared today.”

If the game is played Monday night, it will be the second time in four weeks the Steelers have played under the lights. The season opener against the New York Giants was played on a Monday.

The Titans facility is shut down until Saturday while further coronavirus testing continues. Titans coach Mike Vrabel said it is possible the complex could be opened before Saturday or even later than planned.

“We were always cognizant that a situation could arise like the one that has happened here the last couple days,” Vrabel said. “Our players were understanding. They were somewhat a little shocked at first, but I didn’t get that impression this morning.”

Given an additional day to prepare, Tomlin said the Steelers will conduct practice Saturday, which originally would have been a team walk-through before the departure for Tennessee.

The Steelers will remain in Pittsburgh until at least Sunday.

Vrabel doesn’t want anyone pointing fingers at the Titans organization for the outbreak that has led to the first postponement of the NFL season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I know there are going to be a lot of questions about the game and who is to blame and where it started,” Vrabel said. “Nobody is to blame. We are in a pandemic. Unfortunately, things happen. … Since receiving protocols in August, we’ve followed those by the letter, and we were conscious of everything we did. It’s an unfortunate situation, but one we’re confident we can handle safely and with the football team and the players’ best interests in mind.”

The three previously infected players are nose tackle DaQuan Jones, long snapper Beau Brinkley and practice squad tight end Tommy Hudson.

“Some of them are experiencing flu-like symptoms, nothing out of the ordinary” Vrabel said. “I’m anticipating they will feel better shortly.”

Had the game been played as planned Sunday, the Titans would have been limited to a walk-through Saturday as their only day of on-field work. By postponing the game, the Titans have at least some practice time.

Before the postponement was announced, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger didn’t have much sympathy for the Titans perhaps being short-handed or playing without any practice time.

“We were told there might be a situation that if you aren’t careful and there are some covid issues here in Pittsburgh, we might not be able to practice till Friday or Saturday,” he said. “That’s why they made the rule with more practice squad guys this year. We were made aware of the possibilities. I don’t want to say it is what it is, but that is why the plan was put in place.”

The postponement will shorten the week for the Steelers for their Oct. 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field. If the Titans game is pushed back until Tuesday, the Steelers would be playing twice in a six-day span, and the Eagles would have two days of extra preparation.

“I’m not concerned about next week,” Tomlin said. “We live one week at a time. We’ve got an undefeated team that we are facing at the end of this week. That has been our focus.”

The game is a matchup of two 3-0 teams. The Steelers are trying to remain unbeaten after four games for the first time since 1979, while the Titans are trying to build on the momentum they had late in the 2019 season when they advanced to the AFC championship game.