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Coronavirus: Ravens-Steelers game rescheduled for 3rd time amid COVID-19 outbreak

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers football game has been rescheduled for the third time due to an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

The game will now be played at 3:40 p.m. ET Wednesday on NBC, NFL.com reported.

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The unusual time slot will allow NBC to honor its commitment to broadcast the 88th Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Wednesday night, ESPN reported.

In turn, the Steelers’ Week 13 game against the Washington Football Team has been rescheduled for 5 p.m. ET Dec. 7, and the Ravens’ Week 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys, which had already been rescheduled for Dec. 7, will now be played at 8:05 p.m. ET Dec. 8, the sports news network reported.

“These decisions were made out of an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts,” the NFL said in a statement.

According to the NFL Network, the league postponed the game for a third time to gain an extra day of COVID-19 testing results and to allow Ravens players time to train and avoid muscle strains.

The Week 12 matchup between the Ravens and the Steelers was originally slated for Thanksgiving night, before being rescheduled for Sunday and then Tuesday.

The Dec. 2 contest will mark the NFL’s first game on Wednesday since the 2012 season opener between the Cowboys and the New York Giants, which was so scheduled to avoid conflicting with President Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention the following day, ESPN reported.

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