The NFL will not resume the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals game that was suspended after Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field on Monday night.
The game was brought to a halt when the 24-year-old Bills player was critically injured and had to be resuscitated before being rushed to the hospital where he has been treated ever since.
“This has been a very difficult week,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement announcing the cancellation, which came on the same day that Hamlin’s doctors said he was awake and communicating with them.
“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 Bills-Bengals game had major playoff implications for the AFC. Buffalo (12-3) entered Monday night needing a win to maintain the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
The Kansas City Chiefs (13-3) now hold that spot. The Bengals (11-4) had a chance to earn that top seed with two more wins and a loss by the Chiefs.
The scenarios approved by the competition committee include a potential neutral site for the AFC championship game. The league is considering several sites, including indoor and outdoor stadiums.
The resolution being presented to clubs for a vote on Friday follows:
The AFC Championship Game will be played at a neutral site if the participating teams played an unequal number of games and both could have been the No. 1 seed and hosted the game had all AFC clubs played a full 17-game regular season.
Those circumstances involve Buffalo or Cincinnati qualifying for the game as a road team. If Buffalo and Kansas City both win or tie this weekend, a Bills-Chiefs AFC title game would be at a neutral site.
If Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore wins or ties, a Bills-Chiefs AFC title game would be at a neutral site.
If Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins, Bills or Bengals against Kansas City in the AFC title game would be at a neutral site.
Also, if Baltimore defeats Cincinnati in Week 18, the Ravens would have two wins over the Bengals, a divisional opponent, but will not be able to host a playoff game because Cincinnati will have a higher winning percentage for a 16-game schedule than Baltimore will for a 17-game schedule.
Therefore, if Baltimore defeats Cincinnati and if those two clubs are schedule to play a wild-card game against each another, the site for that game would be determined by a coin toss.
However, if the Bengals win this weekend or if Baltimore and Cincinnati are not scheduled to play each other in the wild-card round, the game sites would be determined by the regular scheduling procedures.
“As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.
“I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances.”
Hamlin has “shown remarkable improvement” in the past 24 hours and appears to be “neurologically intact” as the Buffalo Bills star continues to recover.
Doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said Hamlin remains “critically ill” in hospital but woke up on Wednesday evening and was able to ask who won the Bills’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals by communicating in writing.
In a press conference on Thursday, Dr Tim Pritts said: “Last night he was able to emerge, follow commands and even ask who won the game. When we answered Damar when he asked who won the game we said, ‘Yes, you won. You won the game of life.’”
