Thursday the NFL finally made it official when they canceled this past week’s Monday night game between the Bills and Bengals after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin went into a cardiac arrest on the field in the first quarter.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement confirming the league’s decision Thursday night saying, “This has been a very difficult week. We continue to focus on the recovery of Damar Hamlin and are encouraged by the improvements in his condition as well as the tremendous outpouring of support and care for Damar and his family from across the country. We are also incredibly appreciative of the amazing work of the medical personnel and commend each and every one of them.”
The NFL cited three main reasons for its decision to call off the game: the result would not have affected which teams qualified for the postseason; playing the game would have changed the remaining teams’ playoff schedules; and by calling off the game, all clubs would be able to know their postseason prospects before the start of Week 18.
Due to the postponed game and its ultimate cancelation, NFL owners will decide on Friday whether to use a neutral site for the AFC Championship Game, with approval required from 24 of 32 owners (or a three-fourths majority). Those rely on the results of Week 18:
- There won’t be a Bills-Chiefs championship game if Buffalo and Kansas City both win or tie.
- A Bills-Chiefs championship game will take place at a neutral venue if Baltimore wins or ties, and Buffalo and Kansas City both suffer losses.
- A Bills or Bengals vs. Chiefs championship game will take place at a neutral site if Cincinnati wins and Buffalo and Kansas City both lose.
Neutral sites haven’t yet been decided on.
In addition to all of this too, the NFL is offering up the opportunity for the Ravens to host an AFC wild-card game despite the fact that Baltimore cannot win the AFC North — even with a win over the Bengals this upcoming weekend. Essentially, if the Ravens beat the Bengals this weekend, they would have a better division record than that of Cincinnati and would have swept both games this season but would still be mathematically unable to clinch the division. To rectify the problem the league is proposing a coinflip to determine who would host a Bengals/Ravens wild-card game if the Ravens do end up beating the Bengals on Sunday and they’re scheduled to play each other in the wild-card game.
Damar Hamlin talking to his team through FaceTime
Bills safety Damar Hamlin continues to make remarkable progress in his recovery from this past Monday night. According to Ian Rapoport, Hamlin had his breathing tube removed and is now talking to his teammates through FaceTime and will deliver a message to the larger group.
