After witnessing a tragic outcome on Monday Night Football this week, fans around the world are now concerned with one thing and one thing only: the health and well-being of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
But, the NFL still has a situation on their hands when it comes to the game itself. Will it be resumed? Will it be canceled? How will it impact the postseason?
As of Thursday night, we have somewhat of an answer.
The game between Buffalo and Cincinnati has been called a no-contest and is effectively canceled, per an official statement from the NFL.
Also in there: if the Ravens beat the Bengals on Sunday and they then are scheduled to meet in the Wild Card round, the location of the game would be determined by a coin toss if the proposal is passed tomorrow. https://t.co/FIdSxcVw90
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 6, 2023
With the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals having their season shortened, it muddies the waters of postseason scenarios.
As the NFL continues to ponder playoff seeding and scenarios, we have a bit of an idea of just what could happen as soon as tomorrow’s meetings unfold.
The above scenarios can be a bit confusing, but to boil it down, let’s look at the most likely outcome between all of them.
Kansas City plays the Las Vegas Raiders, while the Bills take on the New England Patriots. Of course, the Patriots face a must-win situation in their game with Buffalo, so they’ll have plenty of motivation.
But, just exactly how does this Bills team lose the game immediately after seeing what happened to their brother? I don’t think anybody sees the Bills losing this game, so let’s assume they win.
Kansas City should take care of business against the Raiders, meaning they’ll end with 14 wins on the season and Buffalo will end with 13. In the above statement, that means the biggest impact could come on championship weekend.
The AFC Championship Game could then be played at a neutral site between the Bills and Chiefs, which would be an odd outcome. However, given the circumstances, it’s difficult to come up with a perfect solution, as Roger Goodell stated.
In the end, there is a human side to this of course. If the number one seed ends up losing out on a bye week and there are indeed eight playoff teams, then so be it. While it’s a bummer that one team doesn’t get their coveted bye, the players on said team also have to be feeling a little bit like, “who cares?”
Hamlin is alive. He’s improving. That’s what matters. Would a bye week have been cool? Absolutely. But, one of their peer’s lives was at stake. The most important thing is, we’re hearing positive updates about Hamlin. Football comes second.
We’ll try and keep everyone updated as more leaks out.