NFL makes decision on Bills-Bengals 'Monday Night Football' game postponed after Damar Hamlin injury
The NFL on Thursday night announced that the Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game postponed following the injury to Damar Hamlin will not be resumed.
“This has been a very difficult week,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “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.”
Per the NFL, one of the factors behind the postponement was the fact that the Bills and Bengals had already qualified for the playoffs. The league considered postponing the start of the playoffs to allow the game to be resumed but decided against it.
Now, the focus turns to how the AFC Championship Game, as well as other postseason scenarios, will be handled. The Bills-Bengals game would have had major ramifications on playoff seeding as both sought the conference’s top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and as a result, the league will meet on Friday to discuss a possible neutral-site AFC Championship Game pending the results of Week 18, along with other potential playoff situations.
As for Hamlin, he continues to be in critical condition after requiring CPR on the field following a hit in the 1st quarter. However, he has made significant progress, showing no signs of neurological damage after suffering cardiac arrest during the game and responding to medical personnel at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The Bills opted to move on with their Week 18 matchup against the New England Patriots in his honor.
Well this complicates fantasy playoffs. Of course, Damar’s health is the only thing that matters. Will just be curious to see how leagues compensate for the deficiencies. I suppose the easiest solution would be to just 0-out the entire week for all fantasy matchups and continue on as normal.
A better solution would be to add an 8th playoff team to both AFC and NFC this season and eliminate the bye.