End zone issues force Raiders to play on shortened field

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Raiders and Packers are playing their third preseason game on a shortened field with no kickoffs, after a patch in each end zone called into question the safety of the turf at Investment Group Field in Winnipeg.

Packers, Raiders and league officials were discussing the safety of the turf right up until kickoff. The official word that the field would be shortened came from the stadium’s PA announcer following the coin toss.

With that, the game was played between the 10-yard lines for an 80-yard field. The 10-yard lines served as the goal line, keeping the players away from the end zones with the patch of turf.

The broken turf came from the Canadian Football League’s goalposts, which are in the middle of the end zone, as opposed to the NFL’s, which are behind it. While the NFL and NFLPA had approved use of the field, the teams were apparently not satisfied with the quality of the patch in each end zone.

More Raiders: Follow at vegasnation.com and @VegasNation on Twitter.

Contact Myles Simmons at msimmons@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @MylesASimmons on Twitter.