The Patriots will reportedly play the Chiefs on Monday night after Sunday’s game was postponed due to Covid-19.
KANSAS CITY – If all goes well, the Patriots will take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night at 7.
On Saturday, the NFL postponed this much-anticipated matchup after Cam Newton and Chiefs practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta’amu both tested positive for Covid-19. That news prompted the Patriots and Chiefs to shut down their facilities on Saturday and Sunday.
On Sunday morning, the NFL announced the game would move to Monday night. All players and coaches have undergone more testing. It was reported that both teams have been clear of any positive test results.
The NFL issued a statement:
"Further testing of players and personnel on both teams returned no new positives from Saturday and Sunday testing. The clubs also worked closely with the NFL and NFLPA and infectious disease experts to conduct contact tracing and post-COVID exposure protocols are now in effect for both teams."
Of course, the Patriots-Chiefs game will only be played if tests continue to come back negative. That’s the biggest hurdle to overcome.
Both teams continued testing on Sunday and according to ESPN, both the Patriots and Chiefs will be tested again on Monday morning. Although the results thus far have been negative, it’s uncertain if it’ll remain that way. For example, the Tennessee Titans had one positive test on Sept. 24. Two days later, they had another. Three days later, three more positive tests popped up. On Sunday, the Titans had two more positive test results to bring the total to 18 in the past week.
This marked the first time a Patriots player has tested positive for COVID-19 since the league began testing in training camp. Newton was tested on Friday, but the team didn’t learn of the results until Saturday morning. The quarterback was in the building, at practice and in the huddle with his teammates.
The positive result forced the Patriots to cancel their Saturday afternoon flight to Kansas City. Now, it looks like the Patriots will fly into Kansas City on the day of the game and play that night. That’s unprecedented in the NFL, where all teams typically fly to their away destination the day before the game. That gives players and coaches time to rest and recover before playing football.
According to ESPN, the Patriots had a team meeting at 10 a.m. The players were informed that they’d play on Monday and fly the morning of the game. The NFL Network reported that it was the players’ preference on both teams that the game be played on Monday instead of Tuesday. A Monday night game changes the schedule a little bit. The Pats would have to operate on a short week to get ready for the Denver Broncos, but players and coaches at least have experienced that before. This would’ve been the first time the Patriots were asked to play on a Tuesday, on the road, and then fly back to get ready for another game on Sunday.
A Monday night game gives the Patriots some sense of normalcy, but if this contest happens, it’ll be anything but normal. It’s unknown if players will have more of an injury risk by playing the day they fly into Kansas City. Never mind the fact that players, coaches and staff are getting on a plane after being in meetings and practices with Newton, who has COVID-19.
Aside from the obvious health risks that Monday’s game presents, the Patriots will also be playing without their starting quarterback against the reigning Super Bowl champions. That means it’s likely that backup quarterback Brian Hoyer will oppose Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. It’s not exactly the marquee matchup anyone envisioned when this week started. To make it even more difficult, the Patriots will play this game without having Hoyer practice and game plan with the first-team offense.
At this point, it’s unknown when Newton will return. The best-case scenario is that the 31-year-old is asymptomatic, receives two negative results 24 hours apart and only has to sit out five days. If at least one of those tests are positive, or Newton is showing symptoms, he could be out for as long as 10 days, which would mean either Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham starts against Denver on Oct. 11.
Overall, this is going to be a tough trip for the Patriots. It would’ve been difficult going into Kansas City with Hoyer at quarterback even after a full week of practice and a flight that touched down 24 hours before kickoff.
Now, they’ll have to make the best of a bad situation.
mdaniels@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ