Let’s start this off with what’s really much more important here: We should continue to be concentrating on the health of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
The latest updates, while encouraging, are a reminder that Hamlin is still in recovery in the ICU after collapsing on Monday night. There are questions everywhere — and rightfully so — about whether any NFL players should be putting on a uniform this weekend in what’s slated to be the final week of the regular season.
Football is just a game.
But the NFL seems to be intent on continuing to play Week 18 and beyond. And with playoff seeding up in the air pending the decision about whether Bills-Bengals from Monday should be continued, there’s been reporting and speculation about how the league will handle that game.
So while we continue to keep Hamlin in the front of our minds, here’s a roundup of the possibilities for what the NFL could decide in the face of an unprecedented, tragic event:
1
Declare the game a no-contest
This was floated by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:
From NFL Now: A look at the options for how to proceed on the situation surrounding the #Bills–#Bengals game, which won't be replayed this week. Meanwhile, no changes to Week 18. pic.twitter.com/2hmBc0eXd0
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 4, 2023
There’s no winner or loser. The game is wiped from the records, and win percentage would decide playoff seeding.
2
It's declared a tie
The outcome is similar, and as Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar writes, here’s what would happen:
That would put the Bills at 12-3-1 on the season, with the Bengals moving to 11-4-1. Buffalo would remain the AFC’s second-seed behind the 13-3 Kansas City Chiefs, and the Bengals would remain the AFC’s third seed. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the AFC’s current fourth-seed at 8-8, so there’s no possible way this could muck up the top of the conference.
The Bills have already wrapped up the AFC East. Where it gets a bit more complicated is in the AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens, the AFC’s sixth-seed, have a 10-6 record, and they face the Bengals on Sunday. If the Ravens win to move to 11-6, and the Bengals lose to move to 11-5-1, the Bengals would have the division even though the Ravens swept them.
It’s not the ideal situation — you’d prefer for this to work itself out on the field. But in states of emergency, concessions have to be made so that business can be conducted in the most intelligent, efficient, and sensitive way possible.
3
Play the game in a "Week 19"
This could be complicated. It would mean moving the playoffs back a week (there’s some cushion there with the extra week between the conference title games and the Super Bowl). Broadcast partners may not love this one, which also makes it more complex.
4
Declare the Bengals the winner since they were up 7-3 at the time it was suspended
NOPE. If the NFL did this, I’d be beyond shocked.
