What should have been an easy three-hour flight turned into a traveling nightmare on Saturday for the Green Bay Packers. With the team set to face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7, the Packers were supposed to take off for Phoenix at 1:30 p.m. CT, but they ended up getting delayed for more than five hours due to a mechanical issue.
The Packers charter two planes each week, and the early flight took off around 1:15 p.m. CT with no issues, according to ESPN. The second flight, which was carrying players and most of the coaching staff, was the one that got delayed.
The Packers were flying Delta to Arizona, and although the airline tried to fix the mechanical issue, they weren’t able to get it done. Instead, the Packers had to switch planes and take a new flight to Phoenix.
According to Flight Aware, the Packers ended up being a delayed a total of five hours and 35 minutes, with the new flight taking off at 7:05 p.m. CT. The team eventually arrived in Phoenix at 8:28 p.m. MST/10:28 p.m. CT after a flight that lasted three hours and 23 minutes.
If you consider the fact the team probably started boarding their flight around 1 p.m. CT and didn’t finish exiting their flight in Arizona until about 11 p.m. CT, that means their travel day lasted more than 10 hours. Not to mention, they also had to catch a bus from the Sky Harbor International Airport to their hotel in Arizona, so it was definitely a marathon day of traveling for the Packers.
The Packers will be facing a Cardinals team that likely won’t have Kyler Murray. The Arizona quarterback, who’s deaing with a foot injury, isn’t expected to play on Sunday, according to ESPN. With Murray out, that means the Cards will be turning to Jacoby Brissett for the second straight week. On Green Bay’s end, running back Josh Jacobs (illness) is expected to be a game-time decision.
The Packers are currently 7-point favorites going into the game, which will kickoff at 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox.
