First off, I know we all agree that the tragedy of the injury to Damar Hamlin is paramount, and football is only a game. I don't mean to undercut the seriousness of what Hamlin, his family, and the Bills are suffering.
This thread is intended to focus specifically on the interesting question of how best to preserve competitive integrity of the 2022 season. The NFL has announced the Bills/Bengals game will not be played this week, but at the moment, everything else seems to be on the table. I know I'd sure prefer the collective wisdom of SoSH to Commissioner Goodell... but also have to confess this isn't exactly an easy puzzle to put together.
Two sample solutions I've heard are:
1. Declare the Bills/Bengals game a no-contest, and go from there, picking up with a normal schedule in Week 18. I'm sure that's not fair to some team bye-wise, but it's the least disruptive and in some ways the most respectful solution.
2. Play the current Week 18 schedule, then play Bills/Bengals in Week 19 -- shoving the whole playoffs back a week by killing the off-week preceding the Super Bowl. It's fair... but having Bills/Bengals as the only game in Week 19, with just seeding at stake (not any team's actual playoff participation) seems excessive to me.
This thread is intended to focus specifically on the interesting question of how best to preserve competitive integrity of the 2022 season. The NFL has announced the Bills/Bengals game will not be played this week, but at the moment, everything else seems to be on the table. I know I'd sure prefer the collective wisdom of SoSH to Commissioner Goodell... but also have to confess this isn't exactly an easy puzzle to put together.
Two sample solutions I've heard are:
1. Declare the Bills/Bengals game a no-contest, and go from there, picking up with a normal schedule in Week 18. I'm sure that's not fair to some team bye-wise, but it's the least disruptive and in some ways the most respectful solution.
2. Play the current Week 18 schedule, then play Bills/Bengals in Week 19 -- shoving the whole playoffs back a week by killing the off-week preceding the Super Bowl. It's fair... but having Bills/Bengals as the only game in Week 19, with just seeding at stake (not any team's actual playoff participation) seems excessive to me.