The COVID-19 pandemic is on the rise, and although the NFL has found ways to keep its regular season alive until what will be concluded on Sunday – the playoffs to start immediately afterwards – has not been able to escape the impact of the coronavirus romance while traversing the nation and the world as a whole. On Saturday, after a week of positive testing of headline players and subsequently discarded, it was discovered that the Cleveland Browns is being forced to adjust again in 2020 because of this.
As they prepare for a mandatory victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17, they are losing their heads in football, with one of their coaches reportedly testing positive for COVID-19 – the team announced – leading to the closure of their facility for now.
It is not known who the coach is, but it is guaranteed that he will not be allowed to participate in the end of the regular season, and that hurts the Browns a little more in a game in which they cannot pay. Having lost to the sad New York Jets in Week 16, the Browns now need to beat the Steelers to secure a playoff spot. They will have the benefit of facing reserve quarterback Mason Rudolph and not Ben Roethlisberger, the latter receiving rest after winning the AFC North title, and there are two scenarios in which Cleveland could lose and still reach the playoffs with a 10-6 record.
The first would be the Indianapolis Colts losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars, with the other being a little more complex, which would require the Tennessee Titans to lose to the Houston Texans, and both the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills, respectively. And while Bengals was hit by a positive COVID-19 test that will remove Mike Daniels’ initial nose, and although the Bills have nothing to gain from sowing the playoffs, beating everything against the Dolphins, the simpler scenario remains the best for the Browns: beating the Steelers.
And depending on how the chips fall on Sunday, the two may meet again soon and with much more at stake. But for now, the Browns are working to reopen their facilities soon, so that they can get back to work sometime on Saturday, and not just virtually. It is not the first time the team has been hit by COVID-19, but they hope it will be the last.
The loss to the Jets was largely fueled by the absence of all starting starts due to COVID-19, as a matter of reference.