Falcons announce no new additional positive COVID-19 tests, Week 6 game against Vikings is still on

This is more of a housekeeping item than anything else, given that once the Falcons got on a plane to Minnesota you had to figure the game would be happening. With no new additional tests on Sunday, though, it’s officially official.

The 0-5 Falcons will play the 1-4 Vikings in a game that’s likely to be livelier than the records suggest.

This outcome has been in doubt at various points in recent days. Originally, we heard about four positive tests from the team via Adam Schefter, but that report was swiftly walked back by Schefter and the team announced just a single staffer testing positive. Yesterday, we learned that John Cominsky was being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, joining fellow defensive lineman Marlon Davidson, and that defensive line coaches Jess Simpson and Tosh Lupoi would be staying in Atlanta for the game. That sparked fears of a mini-outbreak that might doom the game, but with no new tests things are moving forward.

It goes without saying that besides long-term concerns about COVID spreading, the big concern coming out of this is how the defensive line is going to fare today. The line has quietly been fairly effective against the run and has brief flashes of pass rushing excellence, but without their coaches and minus Takk McKinley, a productive Cominsky, and Davidson, the group will be thinner than usual. We’ll hope they can surprise against Minnesota nonetheless.