JuJu Smith-Schuster Joked Ravens-Steelers Should Be Decided On The ‘Madden’ Gridiron

It took three months, but the COVID-19 pandemic has now significantly altered the NFL season in a way many feared when the league decided it would not only play, but also play amid the general population and not sequester its players and staff from the public. The Denver Broncos played what can barely be called a modern football game without a true quarterback because they were all potentially exposed to coronavirus. The San Francisco 49ers don’t have a home facility after the county in which they play banned contact sports for three weeks. And for the second time this season, the NFL will attempt to play a game on a Tuesday night as the Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens matchup originally scheduled for Thanksgiving night has been moved twice as both teams continue to see positive test results impact their starting lineups.

The word on Monday afternoon was that another positive test result from the Ravens before Tuesday night would push the game back again, potentially throwing the NFL’s schedule into chaos or force the cancelations the league has so desperately worked to avoid this season. But some players have a better, and certainly safer, idea: play Madden to decide the outcome.

As news of more positive tests hit on Monday, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey joked that, like many things this year that have been impacted by COVID-19, Tuesday night’s AFC North showdown should be done virtually.

But he wasn’t the only player interested. Steelers wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster hopped on board and had a more specific plan: each team’s best Madden player go head-to-head for the division bragging rights.

Smith-Schuster would obviously put himself in the role as best Madden player on the Steelers, and he’s also very much kidding. But in a world where football isn’t quite as life-and-death, it would be wonderful to see the NFL embrace this idea and play it safe when the coronavirus crisis is spiraling out of control in many areas of the country and safety should be the main priority. Maybe if Tuesday’s game doesn’t happen Smith-Schuster will play someone from the Ravens anyway, a non-sanctioned game that won’t actually count on the scoreboard. It’s a much more fun idea than the actual reality of the NFL trying to keep its season on track despite the number of complications we’ve seen in recent weeks.