Joaquin posing less of a threat to NFL, MLB, other games this weekend

Hurricane Joaquin, once forecast to be a major threat to the East Coast, may still cause some havoc on the sports world this weekend.

Even though the storm is moving away from the coast, there could be a juggling of games that may impact Major League Baseball's postseason and has NASCAR setting up contingency plans for Sunday's race at Dover, N.H.

The Philadelphia Eagles' visit to the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., is one game that could be moved back a month.

The University of Maryland moved its Saturday game with Michigan to noon ET and other sports teams in the region, including Navy and the Baltimore Orioles, were weighing similar schedule alterations. Navy hosts Air Force in what is one of the academies' biggest games every season.

NASCAR would run its third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup on Monday. Qualifying for the AAA 400 scheduled for Friday is in jeopardy under a forecast of high winds and heavy rain. 

Several MLB playoff races will be determined in East Coast cities. The Toronto Blue Jays finish the season at Tampa Bay, the New York Yankees are in Baltimore and heavy rains have the potential to impact games involving the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates in season-ending home series.

The NFL will not a make a call on the game until it's absolutely necessary, according to CBS Sports. Postponing the game would likely lead to it being rescheduled Nov. 1, during the scheduled bye week for both teams.

There are also concerns for the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, who kick off in London at 9:30 a.m. ET from Wembley Stadium. Weather threats could force both teams to park in England until they receive the all-clear to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The Jets chose not to leave for London until after Thursday's practice, while the Dolphins practiced in England.

Coach Todd Bowles said he relied on an offseason conversation with St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, whose team traveled to London to face the New England Patriots in 2012.

"Just talking about the setup and the meeting rooms and the outlets and those type of things," Bowles said. "Getting ready to play, what you have, what you don't have, how the grass is and what kind of cleats and those things, we went through. Most of it was technical stuff. He was real helpful that way, from a travel standpoint as well."

Alas, all the advance work in the world can't prepare a coach for everything: The Jets may end up coming back from London later than anticipated due to hurricane-related weather issues. Joaquin may soak the New York/New Jersey area on Sunday and/or Monday.

While Bowles could not predict the weather, he did his best to establish the Jets' sleep patterns in London, which is five hours ahead of New York. The team brought in sleep consultants, who apparently did their job well: Rookie defensive end Leonard Williams said he fell asleep during one of the lectures.