The Kansas City Chiefs have already dealt with one game postponement this season due to positive COVID-19 cases. The news came down yesterday afternoon that the Chiefs’ Week 6 game against Buffalo Bills on “Thursday Night Football” has tentatively been moved to Sunday.
Given all the uncertainty surrounding potential game delays and the 2020 season in general, the coaching staff in Kansas City has learned to be adaptive. For defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, he’s essentially forgotten about what’s considered a routine week in the NFL.
“I’m smiling because there’s been nothing routine about this year,” Spagnuolo told reporters on Thursday. “The defensive coaches and I were talking about how we have not had a normal Sunday to Sunday game week. We haven’t had one. Not even going back to training camp and with that Thursday night game. It’s just exactly what you said. I’m not sure what normal is. You could say normal from last year. I guess maybe we’re kind of getting used to it. We’re in the chaos. Be calm and poised in the chaotic circumstances we’re in and be ready to roll. Just have to stay flexible, right?”
As for Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, he has some experience with games being rescheduled. He was on the Minnesota Vikings staff back in 2010 when they had a number of reschedules due to severe weather. There was a Sunday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles that was delayed until Tuesday due to a massive snowstorm in Philadelphia. He’s learned to keep an open mind about these things since then, he’s also learned to take advantage of the extra time by getting some rest.
“One thing you learn in this profession is to always remain flexible, especially with everything that we’re dealing with,” Bieniemy explained. “With what happened this particular week, though, I’m not a guy that’s going to look ahead because one thing I want to do, I always want to focus on the task. Our staff will start ahead, I just want to make sure that I’ve got all these particular plays and situations in my head, so I don’t cloud that particular vision. But I’ve got to let you in on a little secret, I took a nap, and it felt damn good.”
While the team did get an extra day to rest and prepare, on the other end they get a shorter week, with one less day to recover and prepare for the next opponent. It presents a challenge for the coaches and players.
“So, we played on Monday night, hey, a national crowd, we got to play and put on a performance,” Bieniemy said. “I know everybody wasn’t happy with the performance, but a win is a win. But the next thing, hey, we lose a day, it’s okay, we grind. This is what we do. We get back to it and it’s all about the Raiders right now. And one more thing, it’s all about the Raiders and we’re one week from kickoff against Buffalo.”
The team will focus on what they can control for the time being and that isn’t when the games are played. They can focus on how they prepare for the next week. Right now, that means getting prepared to face a Las Vegas Raiders team that is hungry for a win in Kansas City.
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