After already losing the Hall of Fame game to COVID-19 precautions, the Dallas Cowboys will now lose two more 2020 preseason contests as the NFL has cancelled all Week 1 and Week 4 games this August.
It was announced last week that the exhibition between Dallas and the Pittsburgh Steelers during Hall of Fame Weekend would be cancelled and their early starts to training camp would be pushed back. This next move by the NFL will affect all teams.
As reported by Pro Football Talk, the league's decision will allow teams more time to prepare for the extra precautions needs to pull of preseason games and travel. Eliminating the Week 4 game is more to avoid unnecessary risk in what typically is a meaningless affair.
This means the Cowboys will not be traveling to Los Angeles for their scheduled Week 1 game against the Chargers. The cancelled Week 4 game was the usual rivalry match against the Houston Texans.
Dallas' remaining preseason games are both at home, first against the Baltimore Ravens and then the Kansas City Chiefs. There is potential that the sites of these games may be adjusted to provide better balance due to the cancellations.
The Cowboys and Ravens are also scheduled to meet in Baltimore during Week 13 of the regular season.
As we said last week with the cancellation of the Steelers game, these moves may just be the beginning of the NFL's adjustments to the pandemic. As case numbers continue to rise in many parts of the country, how long before the 2020 regular season is impacted?
