The 9-1 Kansas City Chiefs and the 9-1 Los Angeles Rams are scheduled to play in Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Monday night, but the field is reportedly so bad the game may not happen at that location, if it happens at all this coming week.
That’s right. One of the most highly-anticipated games of the 2018 NFL season is in jeopardy of either having to be moved, postponed, or played on a field so bad that the first two possibilities are even being considered.
According to Adam Schefter, the NFL has been legitimately discussing the field, which might not even be safe enough to play a game on.
“Discussions continue about whether Monday night’s Chiefs-Rams game will be played in Mexico City, LA or postponed, per sources,” Schefter tweeted. “NFL determined to play it Monday night in Mexico City, but the field is “a mess” and might not be safe for players. It’s a significant concern.”
Discussions continue about whether Monday night’s Chiefs-Rams game will be played in Mexico City, LA or postponed, per sources. NFL determined to play it Monday night in Mexico City, but the field is “a mess” and might not be safe for players. It’s a significant concern.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 13, 2018
“We are working closely with the field manager at Azteca Stadium and others to ensure that we have an NFL-quality surface for our game, and we are looking forward to kicking off in Mexico City on Monday night,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy.
It seems that Estadio Azteca’s full schedule of concerts and soccer games have left the field in its current state.
The @EstadioAzteca field in Mexico City was left like this after a concert just nine days before the @RamsNFL and @Chiefs will play there 😲
(📸 @Migue_luk) pic.twitter.com/tCaOfearoo
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 10, 2018
Hey @ProFootballDoc this is the Aztec Stadium today. What are the risk for Rams/Chiefs players to play over there in a week? pic.twitter.com/r6ILWkaG6j
— Ulises Harada 🏈 (@ulisesharada) November 10, 2018
Reportedly, the NFL has sent officials to Mexico City to fully assess the field conditions, which could be made even worse by the fact that rain is in the forecast for the area for most of the week.
Once a determination is made, officials will then decide whether the field can be salvaged or the game will have to be postponed or moved to Los Angeles. A final decision is expected to come sometime on Tuesday.
UPDATE: The game has been moved to Los Angeles.
Here is the full release on the #Rams–#Chiefs game in Mexico being moved to LA pic.twitter.com/vMxVEeuqOB
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 13, 2018