NFL medical chief defends playing Ravens-Steelers game despite COVID-19 outbreak

The Baltimore Ravens recently endured the worst coronavirus outbreak within the NFL this year, one that resulted in nearly two-dozen players landing on the reserve/COVID-19 list. It led to the league postponing a Thanksgiving game between Baltimore and the Pittsburgh Steelers to Sunday, then to Tuesday evening and, ultimately, to Wednesday afternoon. 

Critics and fans of both teams lashed out at the league for hosting the game on Wednesday rather than pushing it back to a so-called "Week 18" scenario, but NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills defended the decision during a conference call held a couple of hours before kickoff. 

"We can say with confidence that there is no active infection among the players, coaches and staff on the Ravens sideline today," Dr. Sills said, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN. 

As has been the case with other positive tests and smaller outbreaks around the NFL, the league used intensive contact tracing tools, which include video surveillance, to determine which Baltimore personnel could travel to Pittsburgh.

"We can really drill down and understand, did the virus pass from Person A to Person B to Person C? Or are these separate strains of transmission that come out of the community?" Sills explained. "We take all the pieces of the puzzle together to continue to assemble a more clear picture of the outbreak. ... We've also used a guiding principle of when it's safe to resume and consider playing games, and that is when we know that transmission is understood to have stopped and that we don't have concerns about ongoing individuals turning positive or being at risk. We've done that consistently throughout this outbreak with Baltimore."

Starting quarterback and reigning regular-season Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson, running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram, tight end Mark Andrews, wide receiver Willie Snead, and defensive end Calais Campbell are among the noteworthy Baltimore players who missed Wednesday's contest due to the team's COVID-19 issues.