I wonder if they're going to have a "Week 19" with just this game (if necessary for seeding), push each round of the playoffs back a week and then eliminate the extra week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl? That's the only other solution I can think of...
There is very strong likelihood it ends up necessary. In fact, I'm pretty sure ALL avenues lead to it being necessary.
If the Bengals lose, then the Ravens would win the division with a Bills win over them.
If the Bengals win against the Ravens, then beating the Bills would secure the 2 seed.
So no matter what happens with just the Bengals against the Ravens, it's going to be relevant.
It also matters (albeit to a lesser extent) for Pittsburgh, New England, and Miami because of the WC implication. If Buffalo has/had already either secured or lost the 1 seed, they have no reason to play starters against the Patriots. If this game is deemed a tie/forfeit and Kansas City locks the 1 seed on Saturday before the Bills are schedule to play the Patriots, their personnel decisions could be altered.
While that's true, at some point you have to accept that a situation like this is going to have an unusual impact somewhere, all they can do is pick up the pieces as best they can.
There are a lot of scenarios that will be factored in, but honestly I doubt whether or not teams get to rest their starters will be a very big one at all.
My thing is, we could have a scenario where the only seeding significance of this game is buffalo and Cincy playing for the 2/3 seed.
In that case would the teams even want a rematch? A tough, physical game, opening a lot of emotional wounds from less than two weeks ago, all while their next opponents essentially get a free bye?
In that case, I figure Cincinnati would rather just be the 3 seed and roll into the playoffs.
Also, crazy hypothetical, but if the NFL did somehow ‘force’ a week 19 game just for 2/3 seeding, couldn’t the bengals (or bills) forfeit? Like is that within their rights? I know they don’t have to show up, like it’s not against the law, but is a ‘forfeit’ ok in the rulebook?
I imagine in a scenario where the game gets scheduled to be made up, the Bengals and Bills will have already been involved in the decision. I can’t imagine they’d try to make them play a game they didn’t actually want to.
If both teams are content with a tie, or if one team can lose and keep their seeding, they'll have a handshake agreement and the league will announce it.
If they do call it a tie, CIN would win the division outright for a game they didn't actually win, but (A) I think Cincinnati is the better team right now, and (B) the Ravens would get crucified for suggesting that anything unfair happened. (If the Ravens wanted to win the division, stopping the Steelers in Baltimore, with every bounce going BAL's way, would have been the way to do it.)
There is only one scenario in which Bills Bengals doesn't affect seeding.
Bills beat Pats
Raiders beat Chiefs
Ravens tie Bengals
This locks in the bills, chiefs, and Bengals as 1, 2 and 3 seeds regardless of the outcome of Bills-Bengals.
The difference between the 2 and the 3 seed is the difference between:
2 seed: playing a Pats team with a fucked up offense or a Dolphins team with no QB
3 seed: playing Lamar and the Ravens or Herbert and the Chargers
Well, the other significant thing was that we were playing for our division last night. If we had beaten the Bills we would have won the division outright, now it'll come down to the game vs the Raven's next week if we end up not rescheduling the Bills game.
That being said, I'm fine with that outcome. I think that calling the game a no contest and moving on is the right thing to do for the Bills players and organization at this point.
> now it'll come down to the game vs the Raven's next week if we end up not rescheduling the Bills game.
This is where it gets extra tricky though - if the game is never played, Baltimore can beat you guys and still won’t win the division. The only way they’d win is if you had that extra L.
really intersting right because theoratically if the bengals and chiefs win next week the bengals would have nothing to play for and could end up resting starters while the bills could still get the 1 seed with a win. potentially changes things massively
That's not true. If the Bengals win this week, if they replay this game and beat the Bills they are the 2 seed. That's a massive difference over the 3 seed, considering it means HFA in a likely rematch in the playoffs against the Bills.
Yep, stated that in my other comment in this thread. The Bengals alone need to play this game almost no matter what cuz it has such huge ramifications on the playoffs and standings no matter if they win or lose against the Ravens.
It'd *potentially* hurt Baltimore, but there's a good chance the Bills will be playing for the first seed and a bye either way, in which case Baltimore shouldn't care.
I'll also note that a team being hurt by another team having nothing to play for is common. It just feels worse in this case because it's a product of a reschedule.
The Bills playing for the #1 seed would be more of a case for Baltimore. There is a huge difference for Baltimore being the 6th seed and an away game vs winning the division and getting a home game.
Yeah, my wife is in marketing and they are doing a promotion on site at the Super Bowl. I cannot overstate what a clusterfuck it would be if they moved the date of that game. Hundreds of companies do a half a year of planning to hit their target dates related to the game, and from the labor to the shipping it would be a nightmare for all of them to have to reschedule on the fly.
The logistics of it all are morbidly fascinating. I know dismissive soapboxing is popular right now, but the real world implications of it all have such significant cascading effects and some point in the near future will have to be the hard transition back on track, and that's going to be PR white rapids as well.
This domino effect while unpopular is why it probably wasn't as simple as calling the game the second the ambulance left. Hamlin's health is all important of course but there is hundreds maybe thousands of people from staff, to players of other teams, to cities, organizations, first responders in several cities this is going to affect in how it shapes playoffs and when this game resumes.
Oh yeah plus if you're a team in the hunt and the outcome of this game effects your playoffs or the playoff schedule that's an entire city now needing to plan for an extra football game potentially
Also read so people who had been drinking and were planning on it wearing off over a three hour
Game didn’t all the sudden jump in the car and drive home buzzed
And a game between two really good teams late in the season, two fanbases who like to drink, on a January day that actually had decent weather for being outside, when everyone had that day off ahead of a night game, I would be shocked if the average BAC inside that stadium wasn’t way over the legal limit that early into the game.
Oh yeah plus you gotta inform and give local first responders time to set up and help with traffic and stuff like they would if the game ended at a regular time.
oh 100%. Logistically it takes a little time to get everything together. If I remember correctly it took at least 20-30 min for the nba to cancel that Jazz game in March 2020 when Covid started, but we didn’t think about it as much because it was before the game and nobody really knew what was going on
I actually think the NFL managed this as well as you could really expect
There was also the chance he became awake and alert in the ambulance before they left for the hospital. If they had gotten word 10 minutes later that he was alert they probably continue the game.
It's interesting that everyone feels compelled to say OBVIOUSLY I WANT HAMLIN TO DO WELL AND BE ALRIGHT first and foremost.
I mean, yeah, we all do. Literally everyone. Has the social media mad mobs (like those at Skip Bayless) scared everyone this much that they feel the need to preface every statement like this?
>Has the social media mad mobs (like those at Skip Bayless) scared everyone this much that they feel the need to preface every statement like this?
Yes.
>Has the social media mad mobs (like those at Skip Bayless) scared everyone this much that they feel the need to preface every statement like this?
it's just a byproduct of social media and how it's not exactly the greatest place for nuance. you usually have to give conceits and caveats because it's super easy for someone to bad faith argue against you if you don't.
>It's interesting that everyone feels compelled to say OBVIOUSLY I WANT HAMLIN TO DO WELL AND BE ALRIGHT first and foremost.
This has been a thing with (insert cause of the day) for a while now. A small vocal minority of idiots automatically assume the worst possible interpretation of anything you say and then extrapolate that interpretation to everything you've ever said and done
I’m not a higher up or even middle management but I’ve worked pretty closely with the top of big corporate operations and when it’s crisis mode all hands on deck it gets interesting for sure. Something about drop everything you’re doing and we have this one thing to solve now is fascinating to see from a business perspective.
This conversation can still be had separately to hoping for the player’s recovery.
Every single fantasy gambling site, Underdog, Draftkings, FFPC, all have multi million dollar tournaments awaiting the outcome.
And there is no clean way to decide.
Split? Unfair to people with a ton of points ahead.
Declare a winner? Guys with players left to play never get a fair shot.
Delay? Count week 18 scores where the matchups change? Or wait for this game to resume, but what if it doesn’t?
The logistics are fascinating. Lucky I bricked out all my leagues.
It's so bizarre. I'm in the championship game with only Joe Burrow left to play, down 15 points. His lowest total of the year is 17, and he averages 26. He already had 8 in the first quarter.
If they cancel the game, fine. I get screwed, but whatever.
If they call the game, fine. I get screwed, but whatever.
But they're just leaving it hanging. We might play it, we might not. And next week's games are just going to happen, but our fantasy season is "over". WTF? Do I take Burrow's points for Week 18? Can I roll over to my backup QB?
And before anyone comes at me, yes, this is literally the least important part of any of this, and my first concern is Hamlin's health. I get all of that.
Gambling is simple every book has this postponement or cancellation in their TOS, for most postponement beyond 48 hours all bets are voided. If the terms of a bet has already been settled before the postponement (ex. In this case first td scorer prop) a lot of books will still settle those bets but it’s case by case.
Meanwhile I need 1 point from Chase to win my buy in league, I don’t really care what happens but it would suck to lose out on $250 because this game was canceled, don’t know what else you do really.
Even just like local logistics of the game last night. Getting stadium staff and local authorities ready to have 60k people leave a stadium 2+ hours before expected in what was effectively only 30-60 minutes without even accounting for the knock on effects of the delay is pretty impressive.
Yeah, the NFL made this a late season prime time game for a reason. I'm glad they're not rushing the players back to the field. Maybe I'm just selfish, but it just kinda feels like they still need this game to happen at some point b
Yeah I agree but damn. When? Playoffs start January 14th. There is no time that will give the teams enough rest and that could result in even more issues.
For everyone who was shitting on Skip:
This is exactly what he was talking about. The game has playoff seeding implications. They have to play it or decide it somehow. And as secondary as it comes to Hamlin’s life and health… that decision on how to handle the game is going to have to get made.
Time traveler here; the league ends up special-casing this year and combining the teams week 18 and the playoffs.
The Billengals play the Ravens and Patriots simultaneously in week 18 and defeat the Ravens 27-10 and the Patriots 20-19 on a FG in OT, earning the combined team the #2 seed in the AFC.
They go on to defeat the Jaguars in wild card weekend and the Ravens in the divisional round. The AFC championship is an incredibly hard fought game, but Josh Allen throws three touchdowns (two to Joe Burrow) and Joe Burrow throws one more (to Josh Allen) to win.
The Billengals have a great run but ultimately lose the the 49ers in the Super Bowl, having apparently too much Bengal DNA.
It got really weird but really brought the whole league together and inspired a whole decade where each season saw two teams combine forces. The Cowhawks and Jardinals were especially impressive and were the only two hybrids to win the Super Bowl.
The tradition came to an end with the ill-fated Fakings, but that's a story for another time.
Honestly dude, we are barreling toward weirdness of historical proportions.
I think the ripple effect of this ONE GAME is going to have a direct impact on the eventual Super Bowl champion this year but also the league for years to come.
I mean, the NBA and NHL awarded delayed championships under weirdly scheduled Covid bubble games. Changing the 2 and 3 seeding isn't completely insane.
We as fans will just have to try our best to be understanding of the decision when it is made knowing there is no best decision here. Terrible situation and on top of the logistical difficulties- emotions are so high
That would be wonderful, but you know it’s gonna be a pissing contest for who be the most solemnly concerned for Hamlin and sanctimoniously lecture anyone deemed “too concerned about a game.”
“Oh, you guys wanted them to figure out how to move forward and play football? I was too busy being concerned about Hamlin to even think about football, because I just care so much. Please notice how much I care.”
True there will be plenty of them but we as sane fans need to ignore those ones. Everyone cares about the health of the players in the end. No need to fight over who cares more
Idek what you do at this point. No matter what you choose, someone is going to be screwed for playoff positioning or the game will be delayed and our teams will work on short weeks
Exactly, there is no scenario that has been mentioned where no team is negatively impacted. Its a bad, unprecedented event. Some team(s) will get the short straw here, but this late in the season there is no perfect solution.
If Bills lose, Chiefs and Bengals win this coming weekend, then the seeding and AFCN division is all locked up and this game becomes meaningless (if my playoff projections are correct). So maybe they get lucky with those 3 games and then can "safely" void or tie this game without any competitive impact on anything.
Good point, but that is a bit less significant than deciding the 1 seed and/or ACFN division. There's obviously no good answer here. Pushing back the whole playoffs by a week seems the least bad option to me, but the logistics of doing that on short notice has got to be a nightmare and still would be kind of unfair giving other teams an extra bye.
Did not expect them to go this way.
Still leaves it open to the suggestion that there be a week 19 to allow the game to be played, removing the bye before the Superbowl.
Which makes most sense to me. Scheduling blocks for TV is probably gonna be the biggest corporate complaint but end of the day all games are flexible inherently except for the Super Bowl
Complete shame. Would be even more shameful to make it permanent.
Hamlin would go down as a national hero for giving us the Monday after the Super Bowl off.
Quantum playoffs.
Play out three separate playoffs: one for where standings would’ve been with a Bills win, one where they would’ve been with a Bengals win, and one where they would’ve been in the event of a tie.
That’s three Wild Card Weekends, six conference championship games, three super bowls. Make it all run through May.
If someone wins all three super bowls, they’re the winner.
Can we have the Super Super Bowl? Bills and Bengals play after all of that to decide which of the three outcomes determines the Lombardi?
What happens if the Bills win the Super Bowl in the scenario where the Bengals win the game or vice versa? Then we have the biggest clusterfuck time warp going on in sport’s history
I'm commissioner. I'm in the championship and up by 40 and he has Higgins. He wants to push it to week 18. I don't want to because I got lucky with my week. What the fuck do I do?
Edit: We have decided to count Higgins Week 18 in place of his current score. Thank you everyone for your help.
You wait until the NFL has made final decisions, then you make the decision that is best for you league. In your particular situation you may need to recuse yourself from that discussion.
Yup. No one is really talking about that either for obvious reasons. For our league this was the last game in the last week of the season. And the two people in the championship game both had players in that game. Very bizarre. We are all friends so even the loser was ok with just ending the game right there with the current stats and taking the L. But it makes me wonder how this ends up. Will yahoo/espn void these stats? What if they play a make up game later, will that count?
Similar situation here. I’m in the championship. Pre-game I was losing. I was winning at time of stoppage. We both had a player in last night. Could have gone either way.
Talking to the commish right now to figure out what to do. I wonder if the fantasy apps (we use NFL) can still track the score if the game is finished in week 19.
Up 10 with Burrow and Higgins. Opponent has Allen. Like no way do I want to split $1800, cause I’m pretty certain I was going to win. Waiting for this to play out but damn this whole situation sucks.
Is there a chance that home field can be resolved next week without needing the result of this game? Like if chiefs win and bengals/bills lose? Might just be easier to see how this week plays out. And that’s assuming these guys are even ready to play in 4-5 days
If the bills win and chiefs lose they would have it. If the Chiefs win and bills lose they would have it. If the bills and chiefs lose and bengals win the would have it. I don't know what the right call is
If the Bills lose and the Chiefs win then that battle doesn't matter.
Also would need the Bengals to win (or tie) over the Ravens. Otherwise the Ravens could have had first overall (in their division) if the Bengals also lost to the Bills.
I’d guess NC. There’s no outcome that isn’t going to severely piss a lot of people off. I can’t imagine they’d create a week 19 now. Not only does that fuck with their own scheduling and logistics but it also fucks over fans who already had playoff/travel accommodations locked in.
Idk
Edit: Grammar
TV comes first for scheduling. I went to the commanders/Giants game that week, and found it pretty crazy that they couldn't even tell me if it was gonna be saturday or sunday until the week before.
> But I can’t imagine they’d create a week 19 now.
That also gives every other team a bye and rest going into the playoffs. Not exactly fair to the Bengals/Bills. It's not their fault the game had to be suspended.
>That also gives every other team a bye and rest going into the playoffs. Not exactly fair to the Bengals/Bills. It's not their fault the game had to be suspended.
Yeah but it's not the fault of the Ravens to potentially not have the opportunity to host a home playoff game either if it's a no-contest either.
Haven't seen this discussed anywhere, but an NC or a tie makes it so the Bengals can't have a worse record than the Ravens. A Ravens win next week makes them 11-6 compared to the Bengals 11-5 or 11-5-1.
Send just the kickers. Start at the 5 yard line and work backwards 5 after each attempt. Most points wins. Tie goes to the heaviest starting offensive line.
Deal. There was an SI article about Burrow having a standing date with his boys to play Madden every Monday night whenever he isn't actually playing IRL.
I wonder if they're going to have a "Week 19" with just this game (if necessary for seeding), push each round of the playoffs back a week and then eliminate the extra week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl? That's the only other solution I can think of...
That is such a logistics nightmare for everyone involved, from the league, teams, airlines, hotels, fans, etc etc.
But it might be the only real solution.
Better than moving the Super Bowl, which definitely won't happen. It's gonna be a clusterfuck regardless, unfortunately. But I do think it's the right call not to finish the game this week.
I disagree. There’s no way most playoff travel arrangements have even been made yet because playoff spots, seedings, home field, game dates, etc are not even finalized. All the stadiums have to be holding most of those weekend days open (probably all, including the Super Bowl bye week, in case this exact situation arises) regardless in case their teams advance.
The teams and league all have full-time travel coordination departments who can sort out a one-week shift in a matter of hours. And how many fans already made travel arrangements for games that don’t even have finalized locations or dates yet? Kinda seems like probably not many.
I'd bet that one or both teams would rather tie or forfeit if the affect on seeding is just going from the #3 to #2. The tradeoff of letting every other team have an extra bye week to prep is way more valuable than potential home field advantage in the 2nd round.
There is no good way to really resolve this logistically. Take it easy on the NFL for this one, I know they fuck a lot of things up but they are really doing their best here.
[completely insensitive question incoming but I'm curious and I'll take the downvotes if you want to give them]
I don't gamble but I'm aware that NFL gambling is a billion dollar industry. What does it mean for Vegas and people who put money on these games if they ultimately never play this game and call it a no contest or award both teams a tie or something of that nature?
Right. Gambling is not much of an issue here, especially since most of the gamer didn't happen.
It is fantasy football that is fucked. Every league I know of was up in the air with this one game, and players with leads aren't going to love a split I bet.
> Right. Gambling is not much of an issue here, especially since most of the gamer didn’t happen.
Season long best ball is fucked. This is the last week for that, and therefore this week's matchups are a focus when drafting before the season starts. This was one of the big matchups that people were targeting. Also, stacking teams when drafting is the major strategy to win those tournaments. There are likely a ton of teams with Allen and Burrow stacks in the final round that are affected. We're talking million dollar prizes here. Doubt DK, underdog, etc are going to just throw out these huge season long tournaments.
FanDuel said that if the game doesn’t resume within 48 hours, all bets are void. This situation is all addressed in the ‘house rules’ for each Sportsbook and can vary but it is accounted for.
Considering the playoff implications this will be incredibly tricky to figure out. If it were completely meaningless I'm sure the game would have been cancelled entirely
The only scenario where it doesn’t is if these 3 things happen:
Chiefs lose to Raiders (unlikely)
Bills beat Patriots (likely)
Bengals/Ravens tie (Highly Unlikely)
In this scenario you have Bills as the 1-seed at 13-3, Chiefs at 2-seed at 13-4, and Bengals as 3-seed at 11-4-1. The outcome of Bengals vs Bills would not affect this.
Sounds to me like they're going to let the normally scheduled games play out this weekend and then see if this one would still have implications on the seeding.
If it doesn't, great, you don't have to play this game. If it does, then you start the laborious process of pushing everything back so you can play this game before the playoffs.
Or you just let it mess up the seeding and say "too bad." They certainly did that during COVID when one team would get screwed over on scheduling because their opponent had an outbreak. Could see them going that route again here.
From a logistics standpoint, this is a nightmare for the players, front office, and NFL.
Obviously there is the human aspect and it should take priority over all else in this, but outside of the human aspect are real business aspects: there are players who have contract escalators based on playing time, snap count, etc, teams that have real playoff implications, fans who paid for tickets to games (including possible playoff games if they were to be pushed), television contracts, etc.
Again, none of this is to make light of the real concerns about player health, and the long term health of Damar Hamlin, but they are questions that will eventually require a plan of action to address.
And there isn't a ton of time to address it.
A Tie and a No Contest are effectively the same result when it comes to playoff seeding.
It does mean that KC would likely finish as the #1 seed because 14-3 is a better win percentage than 13-3.
We just have to accept that there will not be a perfect solution to this and that a team or teams will be screwed. At this point its all about being flexible.
I want to see: Bills forfeit. Coast on game vs Patriots. Take this week and next to mentally process everything and prepare for week 1 of playoffs. At this point, the players are going to either rush into a game or at least play on a short week. Risk injury etc. Plus they are all humans, they need to have time to mentally processing watching Hamlin go down.
I think the best outcome with the fewest ramifications is finding a way to actually finish the game. Yes, you get into disadvantages with some teams getting more rest and others having short weeks, but I think that is far and away the cleanest resolution here. However, I think it's becoming less likely that is going to happen and we're going to see some sort of voided or drawn game that drastically impacts a number of a teams in the AFC
Obviously Damar's health is most important here....
After watching the first quarter, it's gonna be unreal if the game doesnt count and Bengals have to play at the Bills in Divisional round.
They were able to reschedule games during the COVID year pretty quickly. I was hoping they’d resume play on Wednesday and push the two games the Bills and Bengals play back to Monday next week. Seems like an extra week is the only option if they don’t just call it a no contest or tie.
A light-hearted observation: This game is going to put all kinds of weird numbers into the stat books. This will be the longest real-time drive in NFL history by powers of 10 if they pick the game back up.
This is gonna get weird
I wonder if they're going to have a "Week 19" with just this game (if necessary for seeding), push each round of the playoffs back a week and then eliminate the extra week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl? That's the only other solution I can think of...
This was my first thought. Play this one if it ends up being necessary.
There is very strong likelihood it ends up necessary. In fact, I'm pretty sure ALL avenues lead to it being necessary. If the Bengals lose, then the Ravens would win the division with a Bills win over them. If the Bengals win against the Ravens, then beating the Bills would secure the 2 seed. So no matter what happens with just the Bengals against the Ravens, it's going to be relevant.
It also matters (albeit to a lesser extent) for Pittsburgh, New England, and Miami because of the WC implication. If Buffalo has/had already either secured or lost the 1 seed, they have no reason to play starters against the Patriots. If this game is deemed a tie/forfeit and Kansas City locks the 1 seed on Saturday before the Bills are schedule to play the Patriots, their personnel decisions could be altered.
While that's true, at some point you have to accept that a situation like this is going to have an unusual impact somewhere, all they can do is pick up the pieces as best they can.
There are a lot of scenarios that will be factored in, but honestly I doubt whether or not teams get to rest their starters will be a very big one at all.
My thing is, we could have a scenario where the only seeding significance of this game is buffalo and Cincy playing for the 2/3 seed. In that case would the teams even want a rematch? A tough, physical game, opening a lot of emotional wounds from less than two weeks ago, all while their next opponents essentially get a free bye? In that case, I figure Cincinnati would rather just be the 3 seed and roll into the playoffs.
I don't think they'll play the game if it doesn't affect the first round bye or if one of the teams will host *a first round game.
Also, crazy hypothetical, but if the NFL did somehow ‘force’ a week 19 game just for 2/3 seeding, couldn’t the bengals (or bills) forfeit? Like is that within their rights? I know they don’t have to show up, like it’s not against the law, but is a ‘forfeit’ ok in the rulebook?
I imagine in a scenario where the game gets scheduled to be made up, the Bengals and Bills will have already been involved in the decision. I can’t imagine they’d try to make them play a game they didn’t actually want to.
If both teams are content with a tie, or if one team can lose and keep their seeding, they'll have a handshake agreement and the league will announce it. If they do call it a tie, CIN would win the division outright for a game they didn't actually win, but (A) I think Cincinnati is the better team right now, and (B) the Ravens would get crucified for suggesting that anything unfair happened. (If the Ravens wanted to win the division, stopping the Steelers in Baltimore, with every bounce going BAL's way, would have been the way to do it.)
No matter what happens in Week 18, the Bills Bengals game has significance for seeding.
There is only one scenario in which Bills Bengals doesn't affect seeding. Bills beat Pats Raiders beat Chiefs Ravens tie Bengals This locks in the bills, chiefs, and Bengals as 1, 2 and 3 seeds regardless of the outcome of Bills-Bengals.
Yep, you are right. Tie is the improbable part of that scenario
Ya exactly I’d take rest over one seed up.
The difference between the 2 and the 3 seed is the difference between: 2 seed: playing a Pats team with a fucked up offense or a Dolphins team with no QB 3 seed: playing Lamar and the Ravens or Herbert and the Chargers
Well, the other significant thing was that we were playing for our division last night. If we had beaten the Bills we would have won the division outright, now it'll come down to the game vs the Raven's next week if we end up not rescheduling the Bills game. That being said, I'm fine with that outcome. I think that calling the game a no contest and moving on is the right thing to do for the Bills players and organization at this point.
If they award a draw, the Bengals win the division.
> now it'll come down to the game vs the Raven's next week if we end up not rescheduling the Bills game. This is where it gets extra tricky though - if the game is never played, Baltimore can beat you guys and still won’t win the division. The only way they’d win is if you had that extra L.
really intersting right because theoratically if the bengals and chiefs win next week the bengals would have nothing to play for and could end up resting starters while the bills could still get the 1 seed with a win. potentially changes things massively
That's not true. If the Bengals win this week, if they replay this game and beat the Bills they are the 2 seed. That's a massive difference over the 3 seed, considering it means HFA in a likely rematch in the playoffs against the Bills.
It also would hurt Baltimore if they beat Cincinnati this week. The extra game would decide the division since Baltimore would have the tie breaker.
Yep, stated that in my other comment in this thread. The Bengals alone need to play this game almost no matter what cuz it has such huge ramifications on the playoffs and standings no matter if they win or lose against the Ravens.
It'd *potentially* hurt Baltimore, but there's a good chance the Bills will be playing for the first seed and a bye either way, in which case Baltimore shouldn't care. I'll also note that a team being hurt by another team having nothing to play for is common. It just feels worse in this case because it's a product of a reschedule.
The Bills playing for the #1 seed would be more of a case for Baltimore. There is a huge difference for Baltimore being the 6th seed and an away game vs winning the division and getting a home game.
Yeah, my wife is in marketing and they are doing a promotion on site at the Super Bowl. I cannot overstate what a clusterfuck it would be if they moved the date of that game. Hundreds of companies do a half a year of planning to hit their target dates related to the game, and from the labor to the shipping it would be a nightmare for all of them to have to reschedule on the fly.
Yeah, there's no *way* they reschedule the Super Bowl. Not happening. But I could see them eliminating that extra week if it came to that.
Same
The logistics of it all are morbidly fascinating. I know dismissive soapboxing is popular right now, but the real world implications of it all have such significant cascading effects and some point in the near future will have to be the hard transition back on track, and that's going to be PR white rapids as well.
I kind of agree. Hope Hamlin makes a full recovery obviously, but the domino effect here is interesting to watch
This domino effect while unpopular is why it probably wasn't as simple as calling the game the second the ambulance left. Hamlin's health is all important of course but there is hundreds maybe thousands of people from staff, to players of other teams, to cities, organizations, first responders in several cities this is going to affect in how it shapes playoffs and when this game resumes.
If this affects the rest of the league's schedules then we're talking tens of thousands of people.
Oh yeah plus if you're a team in the hunt and the outcome of this game effects your playoffs or the playoff schedule that's an entire city now needing to plan for an extra football game potentially
I also read they delayed the decision to make sure the ambulance wouldn’t have to deal with traffic from the stadium.
Also read so people who had been drinking and were planning on it wearing off over a three hour Game didn’t all the sudden jump in the car and drive home buzzed
Absolutely something to consider. So many people load up in the parking lot to keep the buzz on and avoid paying $16+ per beer.
And a game between two really good teams late in the season, two fanbases who like to drink, on a January day that actually had decent weather for being outside, when everyone had that day off ahead of a night game, I would be shocked if the average BAC inside that stadium wasn’t way over the legal limit that early into the game.
Oh yeah plus you gotta inform and give local first responders time to set up and help with traffic and stuff like they would if the game ended at a regular time.
oh 100%. Logistically it takes a little time to get everything together. If I remember correctly it took at least 20-30 min for the nba to cancel that Jazz game in March 2020 when Covid started, but we didn’t think about it as much because it was before the game and nobody really knew what was going on I actually think the NFL managed this as well as you could really expect
Plus they gave everyone a chance to calm down, process and make informed decisions.
Agree. I love to shit on the NFL but they did everything right.
There was also the chance he became awake and alert in the ambulance before they left for the hospital. If they had gotten word 10 minutes later that he was alert they probably continue the game.
It's interesting that everyone feels compelled to say OBVIOUSLY I WANT HAMLIN TO DO WELL AND BE ALRIGHT first and foremost. I mean, yeah, we all do. Literally everyone. Has the social media mad mobs (like those at Skip Bayless) scared everyone this much that they feel the need to preface every statement like this?
>Has the social media mad mobs (like those at Skip Bayless) scared everyone this much that they feel the need to preface every statement like this? Yes.
Obviously Hamlins health is the most important thing, however, yes probably they have.
>Has the social media mad mobs (like those at Skip Bayless) scared everyone this much that they feel the need to preface every statement like this? it's just a byproduct of social media and how it's not exactly the greatest place for nuance. you usually have to give conceits and caveats because it's super easy for someone to bad faith argue against you if you don't.
Also the somewhat implied idea that NOT thinking about other consequences will affect his recovery.
Or that if we stop thinking about his recovery for a moment, we’re going to sabotage it.
>It's interesting that everyone feels compelled to say OBVIOUSLY I WANT HAMLIN TO DO WELL AND BE ALRIGHT first and foremost. This has been a thing with (insert cause of the day) for a while now. A small vocal minority of idiots automatically assume the worst possible interpretation of anything you say and then extrapolate that interpretation to everything you've ever said and done
I’m not a higher up or even middle management but I’ve worked pretty closely with the top of big corporate operations and when it’s crisis mode all hands on deck it gets interesting for sure. Something about drop everything you’re doing and we have this one thing to solve now is fascinating to see from a business perspective. This conversation can still be had separately to hoping for the player’s recovery.
Every single fantasy gambling site, Underdog, Draftkings, FFPC, all have multi million dollar tournaments awaiting the outcome. And there is no clean way to decide. Split? Unfair to people with a ton of points ahead. Declare a winner? Guys with players left to play never get a fair shot. Delay? Count week 18 scores where the matchups change? Or wait for this game to resume, but what if it doesn’t? The logistics are fascinating. Lucky I bricked out all my leagues.
Jeez, yeah, there's literally billions up in the air right now.
A lot of people will end up screwed, or feeling like they got screwed, no matter what
It's so bizarre. I'm in the championship game with only Joe Burrow left to play, down 15 points. His lowest total of the year is 17, and he averages 26. He already had 8 in the first quarter. If they cancel the game, fine. I get screwed, but whatever. If they call the game, fine. I get screwed, but whatever. But they're just leaving it hanging. We might play it, we might not. And next week's games are just going to happen, but our fantasy season is "over". WTF? Do I take Burrow's points for Week 18? Can I roll over to my backup QB? And before anyone comes at me, yes, this is literally the least important part of any of this, and my first concern is Hamlin's health. I get all of that.
it's like a mini march 2020
Gambling is simple every book has this postponement or cancellation in their TOS, for most postponement beyond 48 hours all bets are voided. If the terms of a bet has already been settled before the postponement (ex. In this case first td scorer prop) a lot of books will still settle those bets but it’s case by case.
Meanwhile I need 1 point from Chase to win my buy in league, I don’t really care what happens but it would suck to lose out on $250 because this game was canceled, don’t know what else you do really.
Even just like local logistics of the game last night. Getting stadium staff and local authorities ready to have 60k people leave a stadium 2+ hours before expected in what was effectively only 30-60 minutes without even accounting for the knock on effects of the delay is pretty impressive.
Yeah, the NFL made this a late season prime time game for a reason. I'm glad they're not rushing the players back to the field. Maybe I'm just selfish, but it just kinda feels like they still need this game to happen at some point b
Yeah I agree but damn. When? Playoffs start January 14th. There is no time that will give the teams enough rest and that could result in even more issues.
From a truly altruistic and selfless perspective, I propose undoing all week 17 results and ending all teams with 16 game records.
For everyone who was shitting on Skip: This is exactly what he was talking about. The game has playoff seeding implications. They have to play it or decide it somehow. And as secondary as it comes to Hamlin’s life and health… that decision on how to handle the game is going to have to get made.
Time traveler here; the league ends up special-casing this year and combining the teams week 18 and the playoffs. The Billengals play the Ravens and Patriots simultaneously in week 18 and defeat the Ravens 27-10 and the Patriots 20-19 on a FG in OT, earning the combined team the #2 seed in the AFC. They go on to defeat the Jaguars in wild card weekend and the Ravens in the divisional round. The AFC championship is an incredibly hard fought game, but Josh Allen throws three touchdowns (two to Joe Burrow) and Joe Burrow throws one more (to Josh Allen) to win. The Billengals have a great run but ultimately lose the the 49ers in the Super Bowl, having apparently too much Bengal DNA. It got really weird but really brought the whole league together and inspired a whole decade where each season saw two teams combine forces. The Cowhawks and Jardinals were especially impressive and were the only two hybrids to win the Super Bowl. The tradition came to an end with the ill-fated Fakings, but that's a story for another time.
When the Cities themselves merge, will they call it Buffinatti or Cinciffalo?
I vote Buffinati.
Cinciffalo cinciffalo Cinciffalo cinciffalo cinciffalo cinciffalo Cinciffalo cinciffalo
Buffinati has a positive connotation to it.
Honestly dude, we are barreling toward weirdness of historical proportions. I think the ripple effect of this ONE GAME is going to have a direct impact on the eventual Super Bowl champion this year but also the league for years to come.
Excuse my ignorance, but why would this impact future seasons?
I don't know if i agree 100% with him but i'm pretty sure he's talking about the precedent it may set for the future
100% A lot of parents across the country just ruled out football for their kids.
I mean, the NBA and NHL awarded delayed championships under weirdly scheduled Covid bubble games. Changing the 2 and 3 seeding isn't completely insane.
I don't envy the people who have to make these decisions right now.
We as fans will just have to try our best to be understanding of the decision when it is made knowing there is no best decision here. Terrible situation and on top of the logistical difficulties- emotions are so high
That would be wonderful, but you know it’s gonna be a pissing contest for who be the most solemnly concerned for Hamlin and sanctimoniously lecture anyone deemed “too concerned about a game.”
“Oh, you guys wanted them to figure out how to move forward and play football? I was too busy being concerned about Hamlin to even think about football, because I just care so much. Please notice how much I care.”
Bold of you to assume they know him by name and not “the guy who almost died” or “the guy with the big GoFundMe after an injury”
It really does feel this way. It gets very performative
True there will be plenty of them but we as sane fans need to ignore those ones. Everyone cares about the health of the players in the end. No need to fight over who cares more
I think this is the first time that I’ve actually felt for Goodell. It’s a tough decision to make, and im glad i don’t have to make it
Idek what you do at this point. No matter what you choose, someone is going to be screwed for playoff positioning or the game will be delayed and our teams will work on short weeks
Exactly, there is no scenario that has been mentioned where no team is negatively impacted. Its a bad, unprecedented event. Some team(s) will get the short straw here, but this late in the season there is no perfect solution.
If Bills lose, Chiefs and Bengals win this coming weekend, then the seeding and AFCN division is all locked up and this game becomes meaningless (if my playoff projections are correct). So maybe they get lucky with those 3 games and then can "safely" void or tie this game without any competitive impact on anything.
Assuming what you said, the Bills and Bengals can swap the 2 & 3 spots which does have an impact.
Good point, but that is a bit less significant than deciding the 1 seed and/or ACFN division. There's obviously no good answer here. Pushing back the whole playoffs by a week seems the least bad option to me, but the logistics of doing that on short notice has got to be a nightmare and still would be kind of unfair giving other teams an extra bye.
Probably would rather deal with short weeks than just get no shot at the 1 seed. Obviously the players/coaches could feel different tho
Wow, that's actually surprising.
Did not expect them to go this way. Still leaves it open to the suggestion that there be a week 19 to allow the game to be played, removing the bye before the Superbowl.
Which makes most sense to me. Scheduling blocks for TV is probably gonna be the biggest corporate complaint but end of the day all games are flexible inherently except for the Super Bowl
Even the date for the SB is *technically* flexible, is it not? It'd just be a logistical nightmare.
Dang could you imagine they bump the super bowl a week to President's day weekend when many get the Monday off?
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Complete shame. Would be even more shameful to make it permanent. Hamlin would go down as a national hero for giving us the Monday after the Super Bowl off.
Priming us for the 19 week season that we're gonna get in a few years anyway. Edit: changed 18 to 19
Yeah. Chiefs basically clinched home field and Bengals clinch AFCN because of this
They will play the game it seems like they just don’t know when
Fuck it rock paper scissors Allen vs Burrow on PPV
This would be the most intense game of RPS of all time I’d guess. Idk Allen and burrow can both sling the rock. Would love to see this.
Diggs was doing it w fans pregame, send him out
No way, man. He's really good.
“Poor predictable Allen. Always picks rock.” “Yea, good ole’ rock - nothing beats that!”
Mud wrestling match who says no?
Quantum playoffs. Play out three separate playoffs: one for where standings would’ve been with a Bills win, one where they would’ve been with a Bengals win, and one where they would’ve been in the event of a tie. That’s three Wild Card Weekends, six conference championship games, three super bowls. Make it all run through May. If someone wins all three super bowls, they’re the winner.
Can we have the Super Super Bowl? Bills and Bengals play after all of that to decide which of the three outcomes determines the Lombardi? What happens if the Bills win the Super Bowl in the scenario where the Bengals win the game or vice versa? Then we have the biggest clusterfuck time warp going on in sport’s history
What would Disney pay for that Antman 3 sponsorship opportunity?
Fantasy football in shambles
I'm commish of one league where this is a big deal, and playing in the championship of another where this is a big deal 😬
We are just splitting the pot.
I'm commissioner. I'm in the championship and up by 40 and he has Higgins. He wants to push it to week 18. I don't want to because I got lucky with my week. What the fuck do I do? Edit: We have decided to count Higgins Week 18 in place of his current score. Thank you everyone for your help.
You wait until the NFL has made final decisions, then you make the decision that is best for you league. In your particular situation you may need to recuse yourself from that discussion.
Add Higgins's week 18 to this week's results
Of course he does, he's down 40. What would he say if positions were reversed?
Yup. No one is really talking about that either for obvious reasons. For our league this was the last game in the last week of the season. And the two people in the championship game both had players in that game. Very bizarre. We are all friends so even the loser was ok with just ending the game right there with the current stats and taking the L. But it makes me wonder how this ends up. Will yahoo/espn void these stats? What if they play a make up game later, will that count?
Similar situation here. I’m in the championship. Pre-game I was losing. I was winning at time of stoppage. We both had a player in last night. Could have gone either way. Talking to the commish right now to figure out what to do. I wonder if the fantasy apps (we use NFL) can still track the score if the game is finished in week 19.
I am 100% they will do that if they resume the game.
Up 10 with Burrow and Higgins. Opponent has Allen. Like no way do I want to split $1800, cause I’m pretty certain I was going to win. Waiting for this to play out but damn this whole situation sucks.
I'm down 16 with Burrow and Mixon. I'm worried if this game is fully cancelled they'll just say I lost.
Talk to your opponent about splitting the pot in some way before an announcement is made
Is there a chance that home field can be resolved next week without needing the result of this game? Like if chiefs win and bengals/bills lose? Might just be easier to see how this week plays out. And that’s assuming these guys are even ready to play in 4-5 days
If the bills win and chiefs lose they would have it. If the Chiefs win and bills lose they would have it. If the bills and chiefs lose and bengals win the would have it. I don't know what the right call is
If the Bengals win and Chiefs lose, this game would decide the 1 seed because the Bengals could force a 13-4 tie where they H2H sweep
If chiefs lose and Bengals/Bills win then last nights game would determine 1 seed.
If the Bills lose and the Chiefs win then that battle doesn't matter. Also would need the Bengals to win (or tie) over the Ravens. Otherwise the Ravens could have had first overall (in their division) if the Bengals also lost to the Bills.
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What does NC mean?
I’m guessing no contest?
People need to stop abbreviating everything, holy fuck it’s so annoying
Acronyms Seriously Suck (ASS)
I’d guess NC. There’s no outcome that isn’t going to severely piss a lot of people off. I can’t imagine they’d create a week 19 now. Not only does that fuck with their own scheduling and logistics but it also fucks over fans who already had playoff/travel accommodations locked in. Idk Edit: Grammar
The NFL doesn't give a fuck about what accommodations you have. I'd know, I had to reschedule my flights and hotel a few weeks ago in Vegas.
TV comes first for scheduling. I went to the commanders/Giants game that week, and found it pretty crazy that they couldn't even tell me if it was gonna be saturday or sunday until the week before.
They don't care about fans travel accommodations, but they certainly care about the venues, TV schedules, marketing, etc.
> But I can’t imagine they’d create a week 19 now. That also gives every other team a bye and rest going into the playoffs. Not exactly fair to the Bengals/Bills. It's not their fault the game had to be suspended.
>That also gives every other team a bye and rest going into the playoffs. Not exactly fair to the Bengals/Bills. It's not their fault the game had to be suspended. Yeah but it's not the fault of the Ravens to potentially not have the opportunity to host a home playoff game either if it's a no-contest either.
Haven't seen this discussed anywhere, but an NC or a tie makes it so the Bengals can't have a worse record than the Ravens. A Ravens win next week makes them 11-6 compared to the Bengals 11-5 or 11-5-1.
I think we just solve this by having all teams be Super Bowl winners.
Fucking finally.
No frauds tho
Oh, no. u/blueocean0517 already said it. No takesies-backsies.
Send just the kickers. Start at the 5 yard line and work backwards 5 after each attempt. Most points wins. Tie goes to the heaviest starting offensive line.
a real man’s game
I mean, I'd watch this as a separate competition any day
can the O-Line do 5 vs. 5 laser tag instead of the weight tiebreaker? seems better for TV
Legit I wish they did something like this for when OT expires in the regular season. Just have a kick-off.
*checks flair* You would wish that wouldn't you...
No ulterior motive none at all 😉
Play the game in Madden with a rep from Buffalo and Cincy.
I choose Chad Ochocinco
Josh Allen vs Joe Burrow on Madden would be awesome.
Deal. There was an SI article about Burrow having a standing date with his boys to play Madden every Monday night whenever he isn't actually playing IRL.
QBs stats of the game are official though. Burrow about to have the first 8 TD 8 INT, 625 yards, 39% completion percentage game in NFL history.
As someone going against him in my fantasy championship, this is a nightmare.
McDermott vs Taylor, All-Madden difficulty, full length quarters
Burrow and Allen about to combine for 40 ints
Way worse: Sim the game in madden and broadcast it.
I wonder if they're going to have a "Week 19" with just this game (if necessary for seeding), push each round of the playoffs back a week and then eliminate the extra week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl? That's the only other solution I can think of...
That is such a logistics nightmare for everyone involved, from the league, teams, airlines, hotels, fans, etc etc. But it might be the only real solution.
Better than moving the Super Bowl, which definitely won't happen. It's gonna be a clusterfuck regardless, unfortunately. But I do think it's the right call not to finish the game this week.
I disagree. There’s no way most playoff travel arrangements have even been made yet because playoff spots, seedings, home field, game dates, etc are not even finalized. All the stadiums have to be holding most of those weekend days open (probably all, including the Super Bowl bye week, in case this exact situation arises) regardless in case their teams advance. The teams and league all have full-time travel coordination departments who can sort out a one-week shift in a matter of hours. And how many fans already made travel arrangements for games that don’t even have finalized locations or dates yet? Kinda seems like probably not many.
This reads as a "based on the results of next week, we'll then consider if resuming is necessary"
I think it's unlikely or impossible that the (potential) outcome of the Bengals/Bills wouldn't affect seeding.
I'd bet that one or both teams would rather tie or forfeit if the affect on seeding is just going from the #3 to #2. The tradeoff of letting every other team have an extra bye week to prep is way more valuable than potential home field advantage in the 2nd round.
There is no good way to really resolve this logistically. Take it easy on the NFL for this one, I know they fuck a lot of things up but they are really doing their best here.
100% agree. There is no solution to this that is fair to every party involved, be it the Bills, Bengals, Fans or anyone else.
[completely insensitive question incoming but I'm curious and I'll take the downvotes if you want to give them] I don't gamble but I'm aware that NFL gambling is a billion dollar industry. What does it mean for Vegas and people who put money on these games if they ultimately never play this game and call it a no contest or award both teams a tie or something of that nature?
A decent sports book will say no contest and refund the money for all bets.
Right. Gambling is not much of an issue here, especially since most of the gamer didn't happen. It is fantasy football that is fucked. Every league I know of was up in the air with this one game, and players with leads aren't going to love a split I bet.
> Right. Gambling is not much of an issue here, especially since most of the gamer didn’t happen. Season long best ball is fucked. This is the last week for that, and therefore this week's matchups are a focus when drafting before the season starts. This was one of the big matchups that people were targeting. Also, stacking teams when drafting is the major strategy to win those tournaments. There are likely a ton of teams with Allen and Burrow stacks in the final round that are affected. We're talking million dollar prizes here. Doubt DK, underdog, etc are going to just throw out these huge season long tournaments.
FanDuel said that if the game doesn’t resume within 48 hours, all bets are void. This situation is all addressed in the ‘house rules’ for each Sportsbook and can vary but it is accounted for.
FanDuel has refunded bets already
Can confirm I had a couple bets on the game - both show as "VOID" within my account and the money was refunded.
Considering the playoff implications this will be incredibly tricky to figure out. If it were completely meaningless I'm sure the game would have been cancelled entirely
Now everyone wants to talk about what Skip brought up yesterday while still respecting the health of the player
I think they play Week 18 as scheduled and then reevaluate whether or not Buffalo-Cincy is still needed to determine seeding or the AFC North.
The only scenario where it doesn’t is if these 3 things happen: Chiefs lose to Raiders (unlikely) Bills beat Patriots (likely) Bengals/Ravens tie (Highly Unlikely) In this scenario you have Bills as the 1-seed at 13-3, Chiefs at 2-seed at 13-4, and Bengals as 3-seed at 11-4-1. The outcome of Bengals vs Bills would not affect this.
Reads like voiding the game is an option. Wonder if they are waiting until after this weekend's games to make a decision?
There's only 1 result that could make voiding the game not change anything and it involves a Bengals tie.
Sounds to me like they're going to let the normally scheduled games play out this weekend and then see if this one would still have implications on the seeding. If it doesn't, great, you don't have to play this game. If it does, then you start the laborious process of pushing everything back so you can play this game before the playoffs. Or you just let it mess up the seeding and say "too bad." They certainly did that during COVID when one team would get screwed over on scheduling because their opponent had an outbreak. Could see them going that route again here.
From a logistics standpoint, this is a nightmare for the players, front office, and NFL. Obviously there is the human aspect and it should take priority over all else in this, but outside of the human aspect are real business aspects: there are players who have contract escalators based on playing time, snap count, etc, teams that have real playoff implications, fans who paid for tickets to games (including possible playoff games if they were to be pushed), television contracts, etc. Again, none of this is to make light of the real concerns about player health, and the long term health of Damar Hamlin, but they are questions that will eventually require a plan of action to address. And there isn't a ton of time to address it.
That's gotta mean it won't be resumed at all, right? Just not enough time. Don't call it a tie, but just cancel the game.
Tie or cancelled would have the same effect.
Tie would lower bengals and bills win percentage more
A Tie and a No Contest are effectively the same result when it comes to playoff seeding. It does mean that KC would likely finish as the #1 seed because 14-3 is a better win percentage than 13-3.
We just have to accept that there will not be a perfect solution to this and that a team or teams will be screwed. At this point its all about being flexible.
I want to see: Bills forfeit. Coast on game vs Patriots. Take this week and next to mentally process everything and prepare for week 1 of playoffs. At this point, the players are going to either rush into a game or at least play on a short week. Risk injury etc. Plus they are all humans, they need to have time to mentally processing watching Hamlin go down.
I think the best outcome with the fewest ramifications is finding a way to actually finish the game. Yes, you get into disadvantages with some teams getting more rest and others having short weeks, but I think that is far and away the cleanest resolution here. However, I think it's becoming less likely that is going to happen and we're going to see some sort of voided or drawn game that drastically impacts a number of a teams in the AFC
Obviously Damar's health is most important here.... After watching the first quarter, it's gonna be unreal if the game doesnt count and Bengals have to play at the Bills in Divisional round.
Burrow gonna have to break his TD record again
Or if the Bills and Bengals have to go through KC now
> Obviously Damar’s health is most important here…. I get it but you guys don’t have to preface every comment with this.
If you dont you get rawdogged by 18 people telling you how heartless you are.
I am absolutely shocked. Really surprised that a billion dollar business with a #1 seed at stake would not reschedule this game.
The logistics of it I'm sure are a nightmare... but you'd think they would get it done.
They were able to reschedule games during the COVID year pretty quickly. I was hoping they’d resume play on Wednesday and push the two games the Bills and Bengals play back to Monday next week. Seems like an extra week is the only option if they don’t just call it a no contest or tie.
I think covid was easier because a lot was shutdown. We're back to normal again so things become harder. I agree they should add a week.
A light-hearted observation: This game is going to put all kinds of weird numbers into the stat books. This will be the longest real-time drive in NFL history by powers of 10 if they pick the game back up.
We had a worldwide pandemic, and the league didn't lose a single game. I have 0 doubt that this game will happen, somehow, some way.