In what is undoubtedly one of the least intriguing Monday Night Football games in recent history, the 1-7 Giants are visiting Santa Clara, California to take on the 2-7 49ers. In addition to this feeling like a game with little on the line outside of deciding which of these teams will pick before the other in the 2019 Draft, the two squads are also playing in an environment made more hazardous than normal by Northern California's ongoing Camp Fire, which is currently raging about 250 miles northeast of the Niners' Levi's Stadium.
Giants beat reporter Matt Lombardo posted to his Twitter a screenshot of the EPA's assessment, which suggested that everyone in the area "should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion."
Sunday afternoon's game between the Chargers and the Raiders (which was played in Oakland) went on as scheduled, with fans being given masks to protect them from the environment.
Thus far, the ongoing Northern California fire has claimed 42 lives, and destroyed over 117,000 acres. On Friday, it was reported that the league was monitoring the situation to determine whether the air quality would be too harmful for both players and fans. The NFL said that they would re-locate the game if the Air Quality Index reached 200. As of kickoff it had hit the 156 mark, and at halftime it was up to 161.
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