Chiefs and Patriots hope COVID-19 test results allow them to play on Monday

Both the Chiefs and Patriots are hoping negative tests allow them to play Monday.

After the Week 4 game between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs was postponed from its allotted Sunday afternoon start time, both teams began to wonder how the disruption in the schedule would play out not only in the current slate of games but also how it would affect the organizations moving forward.

For the Chiefs, any delay of the game into the coming week means that much less time to rest and recuperate before having to play their division rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders, in Week 5. And from there, the schedule gets tougher because the following week is also a short one—and a road trip to boot—against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football.

That’s why both sides are interested in moving on as soon as possible or, as NFL reporter Ian Rapoport describes, “The preference for both teams to disrupt the schedule as little as possible.”

Rapoport noted in his latest column at the NFL’s official site that the Patriots have tested their team for further positive tests beyond just starting quarterback Cam Newton and everything came up negative. The Chiefs have also had a single player confirmed with a positive test—at least publicly—in developmental quarterback Jordan Ta’amu. What might help there is that he’s a practice squad prospect and no other positive results are known at this time.

According to Rapoport, “If both teams have no more positives through Sunday, the game could be played on Monday.”

If the Chiefs and Patriots are able to kick off at Arrowhead on Monday and get this game behind them, it’s likely that the Chiefs upcoming schedule would go on as expected without any changes. However, if the teams are forced to wait a full 48 hours, then the Chiefs would be playing 3 games in 10 games and that feels like a line the NFL won’t want to cross in the name of player safety.

The NFL has other options on the table, including adding a Week 18 to the regular season or shifting some current games to accommodate franchise needs. At this point, the best hope is to simply wait an additional 24 hours and play the game as scheduled. That will require the team’s safety protocols to work as hoped in the face of a potential outbreak.