Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots Moved to Monday Night Kickoff
After the NFL announced the Kansas City Chiefs' Week 4 matchup against the New England Patriots would be postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests from Patriots quarterback Cam Newton and Chiefs practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, the NFL is now planning for the two teams to face off on Monday night.
As both the Chiefs and Patriots have received rounds of negative Coronavirus tests since the initial positives from Newton and Ta'amu, all signs pointed to the two teams meeting on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Shortly after Rapoport's report, Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted that the game would kick off at 7:05 ET (6:05 CT) with a full CBS telecast on Monday night, officially giving the teams their start-time.
According to multiple reports, the plan for the Patriots is to fly to Kansas City on Monday morning before playing on Monday night, making the round-trip in one day.
Albert Breer of The MMQB reported that the Monday morning flight plan would allow for more COVID-19 test results to come back for both teams, noting that there are still a lot of moving parts for both sides.
On Saturday, we here at Arrowhead Report's reported on the postponement and the details leading up to the decision to move the game.
Newton tested positive for COVID-19 late Friday night and was added to the COVID-19/reserve list Saturday morning, first ruling him out of the previously scheduled Sunday afternoon matchup, then out of any game that would happen in the next several days, as was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. As of Saturday morning, no further spread has been detected within the Patriots' organization.
Schefter reported that the Patriots have been "doing mass testing and re-testing and, so far, there is no spread."
The two teams will still be subject to day-of-game testing, giving both teams one more hurdle to clear on Monday. If any further positive tests are reported, the game is likely in jeopardy.
Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports that the NFL has not considered moving the Chiefs' upcoming Thursday Night Football game at the Buffalo Bills on October 15, still leaving the Chiefs with a scheduled three games in 10 days.
