The NFL has been faced with an unprecedented situation following the postponement of Monday night’s game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.
With the game having been postponed in the first quarter, following Damar Hamlin’s life-threatening injury, the league has now been faced with the issue of exactly how they should go about handling the resumption of the Bills-Bengals week 17 contest.
The biggest concern has always been the health and well-being of Hamlin, and that continues to be the case. But with the league deciding to go ahead with their week 18 schedule as planned for the time being, it also means they’re going to have to make a decision on the Bills-Bengals game at some point in the very near future.
There’s no doubt that both teams and their respective players will have a say in how the league proceeds. But if you ask Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, he’ll tell you that the decision should be in the hands of the Bills players.
That’s what he told reporters on Wednesday during his press conference:
Via CBS Sports:
“I think that would be tough just scheduling-wise,” he said. “I think whatever Buffalo would want to do would be what we would want to do as well. We’re behind them 100% and support them in whatever they would decide to do going forward.”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
At this point, it’s anyone’s guess what the Bills would decide to do if given the final decision. The resumption of that game is probably the last thing on their minds, as they are obviously thinking about Hamlin while also having to prepare for a week 18 game against the Buffalo Bills (which I’m sure they have little interest in playing right now).
Some ideas have already been floated around. One of them involves the Bills and Bengals playing in week 19, while the AFC playoff teams get a bye and the NFC playoff teams play out their wild card games. Then, the following week, the remaining NFC playoff teams would get a bye, while the AFC plays out their wild card round.
Meanwhile, another possibility involves a “no contest” and a “random number generator.”
