NFL announces Bills-Bengals won’t resume “this week”

Buffalo Bills v Cincinnati Bengals
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The NFL has said it will address the issue of the unfinished Bills-Bengals game at the appropriate time. The NFL has addressed the Bills-Bengals situation, partially.

“The NFL continues to be in regular contact with the medical team caring for Damar Hamlin, and also the Bills and Bengals organizations and the NFL Players Association,” the NFL said in a statement. “After speaking with both teams and NFLPA leadership, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell informed the clubs today that the Bills-Bengals game will not be resumed this week.”

The league also said that it “has made no decision regarding the possible resumption of the game at a later date,” and that it “has not made any changes to the Week 18 regular season schedule.”

That’s hardly a clear and final answer, but the bottom line is that the Bills and Bengals won’t be playing in the coming days. It doesn’t rule out the possibility of changes to the current Week 18 schedule, which commences in four days with two games.

124 responses to “NFL announces Bills-Bengals won’t resume “this week”

  1. So I guess the plan is to play week 18. Then see if the results of Buffalo vs. Cincinnati actually would have mattered for seeding and decide what to do? Seems like a messy way to go about things.

  2. I wonder if this means the teams won’t resume the game at all. Nothing is getting pushed back. I don’t see either team receiving a tie. It could mean Buffalo could finish 13-3 instead of potentially 14-3.

  3. If next week, the Bills beat the Pats, the Ravens beat the Bengals and the Raiders beat the Chiefs, then the result of the Bengals/Bills game is meaningless. But even if the result would affect whether the Bills get a bye, or whether the Bengals could get the #2 seed, I dont see how anyone would care to make that game up.

  4. NFL should make week 18 a bye week for everyone, resume the Cindy/Bills game next Monday night and get rid of the pre Super Bowl bye week. That gives the entire NFL and its players time to reflect and respect for Hamlin. Best scenario for a really bad situation

  5. One possible, but not improbable, parlay in week 18 could make the Bills/Bengals outcome hugely important. If the Bills, Bengals and Raiders, who play the Chiefs, all win this Sunday, the Bills/Bengals game will decide who gets the bye in the AFC.

  6. Resume that game if it is needed for a tie breaker or seeding. Not sure if it would be fair to have both teams which will be in the playoffs suffering more than they already have.

  7. Why “dance around it”, NFL… the game won’t resume this week. IF treated as a tie Buffalo remains the #2 seed, Cincy remains the #3 seed, and all week 18 games happen as usual beginning Thursday night and nothing changes with playoff schedule. Outstanding bets get voided, Fantasy leagues become final as is. Grow a pair, declare a tie, and move on.

  8. Apparently the NFL doesn’t do any disaster planning towards multiple different scenarios at all, unless they are forced to. Everything looks like it’s seat of the pants reacting.

    What do these millionaires do all the time to earn their exhorbitant salaries?

    Professional football managed and administered by unprofessionals.

  9. Suggestion: declare the game a tie and move on. If both teams played five quarters with the score tied in regulation and no one scores in overtime, that’s where it would have been anyway.

    Perhaps someone who knows someone in the NFL front office could suggest that. It’s fair, not 100 percent equitable but close, and keeps the league moving to week 18.

  10. The game has huge implications for the playoffs and needs to be finished – NFL needs to figure out how that happens, but nothing should be done until this kid is in stable condition.

  11. BucsQB12 is right … Stop the games at 16 and seed according to the winner of this game on sunday or monday. The owners may starve however from lack of week 18 revenue.

  12. There is no good solution. I’d hate to have to be the person who has to decide which solution is least bad.

  13. Remove the Pro Bowl Week off use that time to reschedule the remaining playoff schedule. Every team gets a bye week this week.

  14. I suppose they’re hoping week 18 will eliminate some of the need to continue that game for postseason purposes.

  15. Play the Bill/Bengals game next Monday…cancel all games this weekend and play them the next.

  16. Good. Let these guys recover emotionally and reflect on what is important in life. Football not just a game, it’s a brotherhood.

  17. While we all care about Damler Hamlin, the NFL is in a bind and wow, they dont have a solution in their by-laws for this in the 21st century. IF they declare a tie, that could put someone out of the playoffs who had a shot. That team and their fans get screwed.
    They could force another game and now both teams must play a mid week game and then be ready for a playoff game possibly in a few days. What mess.
    This is on the commish and the Union for never planning for something like this. Winging it is a poor excuse for the NFL

  18. Not necessarily apples to apples, but MLB does this every year with makeup games. Sometimes only 161 games are played for certain teams that don’t affect the playoff seeding.

    This is going to be tough for the NFL as we are a week and a half away from the playoffs. Somehow the game has to be played or a “result” needs to be determined as it could be the difference between Kansas City, Buffalo or Cincinnati getting the #1 seed.

    Too much rides on the #1 seed for resting players and paving an easier home path to the Super Bowl.

    Let’s hope they can find a resolution that makes sense for everyone.

  19. American football is doomed, more and more kids will switch to soccer, it is going to take time but surely they switch the Tv also, just a question of time

  20. They don’t have a procedure for what would happen in a disaster scenario? What if there was a terrorist attack or something else wild that forced the game to not be played? Didnt they come up with something during covid?

  21. a Tie isnt so simple, and does affect week 18, ask the Baltimore Ravens. Next weeks game could be for the division title and the right to host a playoff game.

  22. Bengals were likely to win that game. Two things can be true, yes what happened to Hamlin is horrifying and you can feel as awful as can be for him and his family. But it’s also true that the bengals were rolling and we’re up when that happened. They don’t deserve a tie. What they deserve is homefield advantage

  23. Steeler nation is praying for his recovery. At some point we will need to figure out how to move forward from this sad situation. It looks like there is no easy solution. I can’t help but wonder if both of these teams should sit out of the playoffs this year? I haven’t heard any other solution that makes any sense. But that way we won’t have to worry about how this game can be finished, and it really will be hard for either team to play again after this tragic event. Thoughts and prayers to his family.

  24. Even if you go by winning percentage, it’s patently unfair. Assuming KC and Buffalo both win next week, KC has the higher winning percentage… which means KC gets home field advantage that they didn’t earn, over a team that beat them head to head and owns the tiebreaker. Which means EVERYONE with a passing interest in fairness should be rooting against KC in the playoffs…gotta hope that karma gets them.

  25. nydre4 says:
    January 3, 2023 at 1:45 pm
    If next week, the Bills beat the Pats, the Ravens beat the Bengals and the Raiders beat the Chiefs, then the result of the Bengals/Bills game is meaningless. But even if the result would affect whether the Bills get a bye, or whether the Bengals could get the #2 seed, I dont see how anyone would care to make that game up.
    ——————–

    Well I’m sure the Bengals or the Bills would care about home field advantage in the playoffs, for one. You can say no one *should* care because they should be concerned about Damar Hamlin, but let’s be honest… people will care.

  26. The game has to resume. Why should the bills or Cincy have to travel in the 2nd round?

  27. With 17 game season, yiy can’t just extend it another week
    No way to resume this game
    Simply go with won lost percentages to see Buffalo and Cincinnati

  28. So if the game is considered a no-contest, as far as far as fantasy football goes. Impacted fantasy football players should be able move players on their bench AND ONLY their bench into the starting lineup to make up for Bengals and Bills players. Seems fair enough.

  29. Everyone wants to say the NFL is terrible and ESPN is terrible but reading fan comments today it`s clear the fans are the real problem. I had one guy at work saying he doesn`t want to watch the NFL anymore because of it and another mad because they didn`t finish the game. No matter what the NFL does or says there will be millions of fans on either side criticizing because that`s what makes them feel better for some reason. It was a terrible unprecedented thing. It`s nobody`s fault and everyone was doing the best they could with little information in real time. First of all nobody not even Roger Goodell gets to make those kind of decisions by themselves without communication. Several people from the NFL, NFLPA, Sponsors and broadcast partners are involved before a game can just be canceled so while it may have seemed like a long time sitting in front of your TV it wasn`t really a long time before they made the call. They also had to wait for the ambulance to get to the hospital and get a update before making the call. STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHO TO BLAME OR HATE AND JUST PRAY AND SHOW LOVE FOR DAMAR HAMLIN

  30. lol, they’re not going to resume or replay the game. Bills and Bengals will just get an asterisk this season. There is no time and even less desire on the players’ part

  31. Who plays who,… when and where doesn’t seem so important right now. Getting some positive news report on Hamlin’s condition is what we should be wishing for right now.
    The geniuses at NFL Headquarters will figure out how to proceed with these last few season games and playoff implications.

  32. Either play it in Week 19 and push the playoffs one week, or declare it as “Not Played”. Personally, I think the latter is best given how late in the season the situation materialized.

  33. First, best wishes for Damar Hamlin.
    Four solutions to settle the game:
    1.Just cancel it and use winning percentages. This currently gives the Bills the advantage (.800 to .733) and thing could still end in a tie if they both finish with the same record.
    2.Play it after week 18. This puts both teams at a disadvantage while giving their potential first round playoff opponents and the rest of the playoff teams a bye-week. TV ratings would be high.
    3.Cancel all the games this week and have the game played on next Monday Night. Lots of inconvenience ticket holders for all teams and TV executive looking for alternative programming.
    4.The easiest and fairest solution would be to just flip a coin. Home team calls it. Winner gets the win.

  34. Bottom line is there is no good solution. Quite frankly, it’s not all that important at this point.

  35. Here is an easy fix for all parties. Add a wild card team(makes week 18 more exciting). Bengals/Bills does not count and all division winners (1-4) get byes which in turn will give the Bengals/Bills the mental rest they need.Playoff weeks stay the same with Championship weekend being played the week before the Super Bowl. This allows the league to make additional money and for the teams most effected to get the mental help they may need after having to play this week. Seems like a win win for all parties.

  36. Both teams are favored to win next week whoever has the highest point differential in the wind Will be rewarded with a W in last nights game if neither team wins next week the game is a tie.

  37. gl0ckworkorange says:
    January 3, 2023 at 2:38 pm
    lol, they’re not going to resume or replay the game. Bills and Bengals will just get an asterisk this season. There is no time and even less desire on the players’ part

    00Rate This
    ——————————————————————————————–
    It should be a tie. Even though it was due to tragic and unusual circumstances both teams quit the game so it should be a tie.

  38. Either declare a tie, or for best equity to all make week 18 a bye for all teams and resume the game on the Monday night. And give up the week bye before the SB.

  39. Coin flip or declare no contest and seed by winning %. Those are by far the best options.

    If the Bills and Bengals have a special week 19 game while all the rest of the playoff teams get a bye, that is completely unfair to Bengals and Bills. And a huge advantage to the Chiefs who are already benefiting greatly from this tragedy.

  40. Can we not just toss this game out? I was there and watched a guy die on the field. Who cares about the seeding

  41. They either have to play the game or give the win to the Bengals. All other suggestions of a tie or going off a 16 game schedule is unfair to both teams.

  42. The NFL is in a no win situation here, no matter what is eventually decided as far as the league games go, a sizable faction of fans are going to be upset.
    And the unflinching media will probably drag them because of it.
    It’s inevitable.
    How about we all just focus on what really matters here and keep in mind that a player almost died on the field last night and his precious life still remains in the balance.
    And whatever disadvantage your favorite team is handed, real or perceived, let’s just accept it and try and be a little adult about all this.

  43. Bengals were ahead and were playing at home. They were statistically likely to win the game. It seems unfair to penalize them by declaring the game a tie or no-contest. And there are other teams in the AFC with a vested interest in the outcome of this game as well.

  44. What if a comet struck earth and destroyed a NFL city? I’ll bet they don’t have a plan for that either. Shame on Roger! Right?

  45. I know the Bills probably don’t want to play any game at all until they know Hamlin’s condition, but we may not know for awhile. He could be in a coma for days. And it can take weeks to determine the extent of the damage. The NFL isn’t going to be able to suspend that long. And it may not even be logistically possible to push it back even a week.

  46. play week 18 as normal, push the playoffs back a week and let Buf and Cinn play a week 19. since playoff tickets are never locked this will work. leave the super bowl where it is and just loss the extra week of practice.

  47. Considering rescheduling all of next weeks games would be a nightmare for the league and set a horrible precedent, the best bet would be to play next weeks as scheduled and then decide if there will be a week off between playoff games to play the Bills / Bengals. If the game will not change standings, continue with the playoffs as is and give them both a tie.

  48. No comments about the game getting soft? Rarely a week goes by without a slew of “too easy on receivers, too easy on QBs” posts. So a guy has a heart attack. Its a violent sport. While tragic, our soldiers and sailors don’t stop fighting for one casualty. Don’t these players always talk about “going to war”?

  49. The game needs to be played. Start the playoffs a week later and dump the silly 2 weeks wait for the Super Bowl. Not really that difficult.

  50. If Baltimore beats the Bengals this Sunday then that Buffalo games means alot to them..cause if they played and Buffalo won..the Ravens would win the North..dropping Bengals to like a 6 seed..if they call Bengals..Bills game no contest..then wouldn’t matter what happened with Bengals..Ravens..

  51. There was a scene from The Wolf of Wall Street where a rescue plane comes to save Leo after their boat sinks, but it goes up in flames, to which Leo remarks that he should have seen that as the sign to stop all their debauchery. Well, analogous to that scene, I say this Hamlin situation is a sign to the NFL and Goodell who have been pushing for MORE AND MORE FOOTBALL. GREED. A 17 WEEK SEASON. 7 TEAMS IN THE PLAYOFFS WITH ONLY ONE BYE TEAM. STOP IT. WILL THIS BE YOUR WAKE-UP CALL? They claim to be trying to protect player health, but they’re INCREASING THE FREQUENCY of the SEASON!?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!??

  52. Can the league extend the season for a week? Play this game in what would be the wild card weekend and start the actual wild card weekend the following week. That seems like the only way to play this game and it needs a result because it affects the entire AFC. It doesn’t need to be said (but I’ll say it anyhow) that the most important thing is Demar Hamlin’s well being, not trying to be insensitive, but I would be interested in hearing what the options are

  53. Hockey and soccer have a shoot out. Maybe Allen and Burrow can just have a long throw contest or something? Maybe a Punt Pass and Kick contest for the win?

  54. Aside from compassionate and scheduling concerns there are contractual obligations not just with the networks but with the players as well. You have to imagine that the league and players association are discussing implications to player bonuses and a way to make it right for everyone.

  55. gl0ckworkorange says:
    January 3, 2023 at 2:38 pm
    lol, they’re not going to resume or replay the game. Bills and Bengals will just get an asterisk this season. There is no time and even less desire on the players’ part

    ———-

    The players will need to play this coming weekend in any case. They could always replay this game afterwards if it could have an impact on the postseason

  56. There is no scenario where bills Bengals wouldn’t impact seeding.

    If Bengals lose vs ravens they would need to play bills with division on the line. If the Bengals beat the ravens they would need to play the bills to determine either the #1 or #2 seed.

    Even if the Bengals tie, chiefs lose and bills win Bengals would still need to play to jump the chiefs fir the #2 seed.

  57. I can’t see how anyone (from a football perspective) can be asserting the result of the game, and result records, and playoff seeding “Doesn’t matter.”

    I get it does not matter in relation to the human lifeconcern, but the objective discussion on how this affects not just the Bills, Chiefs, Bengals, is quite significant and clear.

    Depending on the outcome and the outcome of Week 18, it could end up a Three way tie for for the top seed with the Bengals/Chiefs/Bills.

    The top seed is an important consideration to all of the other playoff teams. It determines where they have to play and who their opponent is.

    The NFL has some options (based on what they were going to do during COVID) if not all teams play the same number of games, and it sounds like those options will have to be implemented.

    No concern is greater than the health of Damar, but the question on what to do with the game and results going forward is NOT a mutually exclusive thing. They are (at this point) separate issues and concerns, and it does not diminish concern for, or thoughts for Damar because you are figuring out how to go forward with the resulting complications of a game not played.

  58. Don’t confuse the NFL not sharing their plan with the NFL not having one. And Don’t think everyone will be or needs to be happy with it once announced. I’m sure the last thing on the Hamlin family’s mind is fantasy football, fairness, and “who won”. Everyone needs to think more like that and pray for that young man and his family.

  59. nflisfixed4ever says:
    January 3, 2023 at 2:48 pm
    Here is an easy fix for all parties. Add a wild card team(makes week 18 more exciting). Bengals/Bills does not count and all division winners (1-4) get byes which in turn will give the Bengals/Bills the mental rest they need.Playoff weeks stay the same with Championship weekend being played the week before the Super Bowl. This allows the league to make additional money and for the teams most effected to get the mental help they may need after having to play this week. Seems like a win win for all parties.

    Good Idea; best I have read thus far

  60. Cancel the dang game – don’t try to finish it. Both teams are in the playoffs, and home field advantage … plus a week off … isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be. Both teams would physically suffer more should they have to recover from this contest and then prepare for the next. This is a terribly unfortunate event – but it happened – don’t make it worse by trying to squeeze this contest in at this late date. Both teams are very good as it is, and they’ll be just fine no matter how the playoff schedule turns out.

  61. This is very simple:

    Week 18: as scheduled-can’t reschedule any of week 18 as all the logistics are already in the books.

    (New) Week 19: bengals and bills finish their game, all other playoff teams get a week off. Teams haven’t made logistical arrangements for the postseason as of today so they can simply push the playoff start back a week.

    Week 20: playoffs start, with no gap week before Super Bowl.

    Super Bowl: as scheduled-impossible to reschedule

    It’s either this, or that game is a tie. There’s no other logical scenario

  62. I think we’re just about to find out just how poor the leadership of the NFL is. Confronted with a crisis and they’ll wet their pants.

  63. Just because the NFL hasn’t announced a plan for the rest of the season doesn’t mean they don’t have a plan.

    Given that there are plenty of people demanding that the world do and think of nothing until this kid is fully healthy, I can understand why the NFL is keeping quiet.

  64. “How is it fair that most teams played 17 games and risked injury while 2 played 16?”

    All players would be very happy to be playing 19 or 20 games this season, if needed. That’s everyone’s goal.

  65. arnoldziffel says:
    January 3, 2023 at 3:31 pm

    Cancel the dang game –

    Ummm. It WAS. It’s now a discussion on how to handle the implications, for ALL teams, not just the Bills/Bengals.

  66. All my prayers are with Damar and his family.

    People in the media forget that in 2007 the Bills had a similar situation with Kevin Everett. An extremely sobering experience that I will never forget. I remember that the NFL made us finish the game, which I felt at the time to be ludicrous given the situation. I wonder how the NFL would have reacted had it not been on prime time? It’s not easy to play the game after something like this happens.

    My prayers are with you Damar.

  67. perfect72 says:
    January 3, 2023 at 3:12 pm
    How is it fair that most teams played 17 games and risked injury while 2 played 16?
    ———
    You are being a bit blasé about some playoff implications. Let’s say that in an alternate universe, the Bills vs. Bengals went without incident and the Bengals won. In such a scenario, not counting the game in our timeline disadvantages the Bengals in a not insignificant way as it relates to playoff seeding (and therefore home field advantage), relative to that alternate timeline.

    Essentially, if the game doesn’t count, it hurts both the Bills and the Bengals, but it hurts the Bengals more. I would not say that not playing the game benefits either team, or if it does, it benefits the Bills (and Chiefs).

  68. The implications of this game are too high to not replay/continue the game. There is obviously homefield advantage at stake but there are full of other implications throughout the AFC (dominos need to fall…)

    The only option is to replay this game on week 19 and push the playoffs by 1 week by using the extra week before the Super Bowl

    This way everything remains scheduled and the resulting slotting in the AFC will remain fair.

  69. bucsqb12 says:
    January 3, 2023 at 1:46 pm
    NFL should make week 18 a bye week for everyone, resume the Cindy/Bills game next Monday night and get rid of the pre Super Bowl bye week. That gives the entire NFL and its players time to reflect and respect for Hamlin. Best scenario for a really bad situation
    ——————————–
    That sounds about like the best possible scenario. Have never been a fan of the Super Bowl bye week anyway. Its a waste of time, and while it may help by giving teams extra time to plan for their opponent, it also contributes to the anxiety and anticipation that usually causes the first quarter of Super Bowls to be mistake filled and uneventful for the most part.

  70. The concern trolling is getting out of hand here.
    It was surely a good thing, that they stopped the game last night and didnt restart.
    But whenever they they play the make up game is fine – they players are well payed adults they can handle it.

  71. Considering the circumstances, just call it a tie and move on.

    I’m sure everyone can deal with that.

  72. I’ll say what all of you are thinking but not saying … the NFL should have found a way to finish that game

  73. Have week 18 as planned. Let the bills/bengals play in “week 19” That way all outcomes are decided on the field, and the Week 19 game would be a chance to showcase/fundraise/promote ALL the good causes and player charities. The NFL is able to PUSH BACK the playoffs one week if they want to. All they need to do is use the pro bowl/superbowl bye week for conference championships.

  74. I think they’re waiting out the final week’s results. Then if the game would matter have a week 19 of just Bills Bengals. Only thing ultimately effected are the made up “Pro Bowl Games.” That weekend becomes the conference championship games, Super Bowl is still the same date, just without an extra week.

    Small price to pay for the situation, one where there isn’t a perfect solution

  75. The Bills forfeit this game, if not played tonight. No one wants to talk about a forfeit, but that’s what happened here. I get why, but if it’s that important, then show it by forfeiting the game. Let’s see them put their values where their mouths are. If you can’t or won’t play a game that’s scheduled, then it’s a forfeit. Plain and simple

  76. bucsqb12 says:
    January 3, 2023 at 1:46 pm
    NFL should make week 18 a bye week for everyone, resume the Cindy/Bills game next Monday night and get rid of the pre Super Bowl bye week. That gives the entire NFL and its players time to reflect and respect for Hamlin. Best scenario for a really bad situation
    ———————————————————————
    The games this weekend are week 18. 17 games plus a bye week equals 18 weeks.

  77. Call the game a tie. If the records are still the same, then flip a coin. Nobody will be in the right frame of mind for this particular game, anyway.

  78. I agree with prettymoose re: Kevin Everett. He was paralyzed, and the game continued. Nobody talked about cancelling games for him. How about Mike Utley back in the 90s? Paralyzed….the games went on. This is a horrific situation, but it’s not totally unprecedented. Not saying last night’s game should have resumed, but people on here are acting like there has never been a life-threatening injury on a football field before, when there certainly has been…and the show must go on. Having said that, I wish nothing but the best care and a positive recovery for Hamlin, and I know the Bills family (and all true fans) feel the same way. But caring about his health doesn’t mean NOT caring about the games themselves…. it’s okay to care about both.

  79. Azplaneguy: The Bills didn’t forfeit. The NFL said “game over”. It wasn’t their decision, any more than it was Cincy’s decision. If the NFL had said “game on”, and Cincy was ready to play but Buffalo refused, THAT might justify a forfeit. But that isn’t what happened….

  80. Might have to just push playoffs back another week and play this game next Thursday.

  81. ****While we all care about Damler Hamlin, the NFL is in a bind and wow, they dont have a solution in their by-laws for this in the 21st century. IF they declare a tie, that could put someone out of the playoffs who had a shot. That team and their fans get screwed.***

    This is not true – both the Bills and Bengals have clinched playoff spots. Only impact is seedings – the Bills and Bengals have a chance to be the #1 seed, and the Ravens could take the division if they were to beat the Bengals if the Bengals also lose to the Bills. I just don’t see them pushing everything back a week for one game that only dictates standings. You have the logistics of moving everything back from a TV perspective. You likely lose the pro bowl and sponsors there. And teams actually do go on the road and win.

    I would certainly feel differently if it impacted who actually made the playoffs, but that isn’t the case.

  82. I don’t think there is going to be a “fair” way divvy this up without shorting someone. If you give a tie to both teams, the Bengals can not get the one seed which they are currently in play for. If you remove the 17th game from the teams percentages the Bills would only need one win to get the one seed and not two wins they currently need. Because further tie breakers are based on events that require everyone to play the same number of games, coin flip becomes the default answer and that’s icky to say the least. No amount of schedule flexing will get the teams to where the Bills and Bengals are not entering the last week with less rest than the rest of the field. The best case I can see if having them play a 10 minute sudden death round this Thursday or next Monday night. Both teams get the ball and they both get to play the next Sunday rather than Saturday. It won’t be so overwhelming as playing a full game, but tiring enough they don’t enter with an advantage. Or if the Chiefs and Bills both win they coin flip for the one seed. If the Chiefs lose, Bills and Bengals both win they coin flip for the one seed. I’d rather teams play than leave it to a coin flip, but I can understand every angle of saying they shouldn’t play at all.

  83. smartcollegefootball says:
    January 3, 2023 at 3:29 pm
    nflisfixed4ever says:
    January 3, 2023 at 2:48 pm
    Here is an easy fix for all parties. Add a wild card team(makes week 18 more exciting). Bengals/Bills does not count and all division winners (1-4) get byes which in turn will give the Bengals/Bills the mental rest they need.Playoff weeks stay the same with Championship weekend being played the week before the Super Bowl. This allows the league to make additional money and for the teams most effected to get the mental help they may need after having to play this week. Seems like a win win for all parties.

    Good Idea; best I have read thus far
    ———–
    Terrible idea for at least reasons:

    1. Ravens could be cheated out of winning the division and miss out on the proposed bye week for all division winners.

    2. Most important, if you add a wild-card, you have 4 wild cards, meaning 2 winning teams in the wild card round. So you have 6 teams for the divisional round, which leads to 3 winning teams. How do you play the championship game with three teams?

  84. The actual letter from Goodell said they have not announced any changes to next week, but did not say changes were not being considered. I took it to mean no decision has been made and any news of one did not come from them. So actually resuming the game next Monday and then having all schedules resume from that point is not off the table. They could use the Superbowl bye week to absorb the schedule shift.

  85. kyle dodd: I disagree. We don’t know the content of those phone calls, but we know what we saw. The Bills were not willing to resume playing, so they went to the locker room. Their coach called over Zack Tayler to explain it. We could all see it happen in real time. The Bengals started warming up. It was obvious the Bills didn’t want to resume playing. I get why, but that’s what happened. Some players even started taking off their pads BEFORE those phone calls in the halls were made. Then they flew home that night (instead of staying in town with their fallen comrade). That’s a forfeit. From the way I see it, they put the Bengals and the NFL in an impossible situation by leaving the field instead of warming up to resume playing. If the NFL had called the game while they were warming back up, I’d say it was on the NFL. But that’s not what happened. It’s on the Bills. Imposing a tie on the Bengals would be a travesty.

  86. Unorthodox and unrealistic way to solve this. Each team had a full possession. Bengals up 7-3 after each team had the ball. Kicking is part of the game. Long snapper, holder, & kicker from each team meet back in Cincy. Coin flip to determine who goes first, with loser selecting which endzone they kick to. Each team gets 10 kicks from 50 yards out. Winner is highest score from those 10 kicks + score from partial game played.

    Not gonna happen, but eliminates short week implications, score from partial game played means something, and representation from each team ultimately decides the winner.

  87. There is a two wk layover for the Superbowl,I think they will push everything back a wk

  88. I’m not saying I support this approach but how are they going to continue this season – especially if god forbids he dies? How are they going to celebrate the game and achievement of winning the pinnacle of football? It would be trite to celebrate a championship at this point and I don’t see how this changes.

  89. I see a coin flip to decide the winner as the least desirable of all possible (bad) options.

    While every possible solution has some negative (e.g., extra week off for everyone but the Bengals & Bills before the playoffs, Bengals eliminated from 1st seed contention due to the game being determined to be a tie by decree, Bills given an L because their player maybe died and they refused to play on, Bills given an L because they didn’t score as many points in 1 drive as the Bengals did in 1.5), a coin flip leaves the worst taste in my mouth.

    I can’t imagine either team or teams’ fans would ever accept an L because they lost a single coin flip. Sure, both teams are going to the playoffs either way, but neither team would be at all happy that they lost home field advantage for one or more games because a friggin’ coin landed a particular way.

  90. Last night I realized, under the right circumstances, I could give up watching football, and not even think about it.
    I consider myself a die hard fan, like many others. And what I watched last night made me forget and not care that my beloved Bills were on a cusp of a 1 seed.
    It just doesn’t matter anymore.
    If he pulls through, the Bills can dedicate the season to Damar.
    If the worst happens, There will be no joy watching this game for a long long time.

  91. Anyone else tired of bleeding hearts using a freak accident to take shots at the NFL’s player safety initiative?

  92. Have the bengals, bills, patriots, and ravens meet up at one stadium this Sunday, then have the bengals and bills play one half to determine the outcome of the Monday night game, then have the bengals and ravens play the second half to determine that game, then have the bills and patriots play another half game to determine that outcome

  93. First, what a truly terrible thing and my heart goes out to his family. And it was entirely appropriate to postpone the game last night. That said, all this talk of re-scheduling other games or postponing week 18 is complete nonsense.

  94. NFL THIS IS YOUR SOLUTION: Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals receive buy weeks in the playoffs. Week 18 decides home field. If all three win – use the NCAAs style points based on competition, home vs away etc. Wild Card round is 4 v 7 and 5 v 6.

  95. NFL THIS IS YOUR SOLUTION: Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals receive buy weeks in the playoffs. Week 18 decides home field. If all three win – use the NCAAs style points based on competition, home vs away etc. Wild Card round is 4 v 7 and 5 v 6.

    —–
    bye*

  96. The simple way and the best way:
    Call the game and go to the score board. The Bengals win.

  97. profootballcomment says:
    January 3, 2023 at 6:53 pm

    NFL THIS IS YOUR SOLUTION: Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals receive buy weeks in the playoffs. Week 18 decides home field. If all three win – use the NCAAs style points based on competition, home vs away etc. Wild Card round is 4 v 7 and 5 v 6.

    Not very well thought out and not much of a solution. 3 teams get a bye? Wild card round is 4 teams, 2 games? 2 teams move on from wild card round. So you have 3 teams that had a bye and 2 teams from the wild card round. That’s 5 teams. How exactly is the divisional round going to work with 5 teams?

  98. Play the game SNF this week & move week 18 back a week. Can’t do MNF as it will conflict with GA/TCU. Put Det/GB at 425 ET along with LAR/SEA. NFL-not fair to always kiss Arodg xxx.

  99. I had to rub my eyes over and over to make sure that all the idiotic comments were real. The one that is at the top is the person saying that with 5 min left in the 1st quarter that Cincinnati was definitely gonna win. I mean who are these people and how did they make it as far as they did in life?

  100. Not very well thought out and not much of a solution. 3 teams get a bye? Wild card round is 4 teams, 2 games? 2 teams move on from wild card round. So you have 3 teams that had a bye and 2 teams from the wild card round. That’s 5 teams. How exactly is the divisional round going to work with 5 teams?
    ——————————————————————————————–

    Can’t argue with that. And no not much thought

  101. You don’t fight 3 rounds of a boxing match with one opponent clearly landing better punches , call the fight and its a tie. Bengals were better and with the extra secondary losses no way they get a tie. A forfeit sure. Not a tie.

  102. Everyone saying that solution isn’t fair, or the other solution isn’t fair…..whats NOT FAIR is Hamlin playing a game he loves and having his heart stop after a hit…that ain’t fair. Get well quick Hamiin , we’re all thinking of you!!!

  103. If those 2 teams donT play a entire schedule like rest of league they need to not be in the playoffs.

  104. cloehokie says:
    January 3, 2023 at 7:52 pm
    You don’t fight 3 rounds of a boxing match with one opponent clearly landing better punches , call the fight and its a tie. Bengals were better and with the extra secondary losses no way they get a tie. A forfeit sure. Not a tie
    —-
    Like when the Colts clearly were landing better punches on the Vikes a few weeks ago?

  105. Watching football as long as I have I’m surprised it wasn’t moved to Thursday night. I can’t remember all the players that almost died over the years there’s been so many. Zach Miller and Drew Bledsoe come to mind immediately. This is the 1st time I’ve seen a game not finished because of it. Makes me wonder if it would have been had this been an early game without the whole country watching. I like the Bills forfeit idea. That’s protocol.

  106. The only thing that matters is this young mans health!!! Ties ,seeding ,playoff , don’t Mean s##@. Some of you people need to go to Whoville and maybe you can grow a heart!!

  107. Call the Buffalo/Cincinnati a tie.

    For Buffalo and KC: If one team wins next week and the other does not, home field advantage goes to the team that won.

    If both teams win: if they face each other in the playoffs, have it at a neutral site.

    If both teams lose and Cincinnati wins, they get #1.

  108. It is simple slide them in next Thursday to finish the game. This way both teams finish their schedule like the other teams. Whichever team does not get a buy the week the playoffs start push their game to a Monday night (Oh yeah more Monday night football) and that is about as close as they can get it to where it is even.

  109. The Bills/Bengals game doesn’t effect the NFC.
    Keep week 18 and the NFC playoff schedule untouched.
    Move the Bills/Bengals game to week 19 along with the NFC wildcard playoff games.
    Week 20 would have the NFC Divisional games and AFC Wildcard games
    Week 21 would have the NFC championship and AFC Divisional games
    Week 22 would be a bye for the NFC while the AFC plays their championship game.
    Week 23 Super Bowl

  110. It’s a joke that NY hasn’t come up with an answer yet. It’s almost noon Wed Jan 4. Almost two days since the near tragic heart condition. All those high paid MBA pinheads in there ivory towers…can’t come up with a solution yet? SMH

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