Even before the NFL released its schedule for the 2020 season, the league was confident it would play a full 16-game schedule on time despite the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with a second wave of the coronavirus looming, the NFL could be forced to change its schedule.
While the league released a full 2020 schedule this past week, officials crafted it to make the schedule portable. As a result, if the COVID-19 pandemic worsens or team owners decide they don’t want to play in empty stadiums, the NFL could make a major adjustment to the upcoming season.
According to NBC Sports’ Peter King, the NFL’s portable schedule would move the first four weeks of the season into January. As a result, the 2020 season would start on Thursday, Oct. 8 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers set to face the Chicago Bears on “Thursday Night Football.”
League officials have already discussed delaying the season by a month to buy additional time during the COVID-19 pandemic. By delaying the season a month, teams in states with bans on mass gatherings through September, could potentially start their season with fans in attendance.
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Originally posted on Sportsnaut – By Matt Johnson | Last updated 5/11/20
