Official: (Bengals) Game will not be resumed this week UPDATE: OFFICIALLY CANCELLED

[jethro_tull]

heard on sports radio that the game must be played per nfl business.

[Motorin']

Just now, jethro_tull said:

heard on sports radio that the game must be played per nfl business.

 

Well if it was on the radio...

[skibum]

Call it a draw and move on. I know the Bills were losing on the scoreboard and, by all accounts, on the field as well. But you can't call a game after less than one quarter, and I don't see how they are going to fit this game in with only one week left in the regular season. 

 

One could argue that the Bengals suffer more from a tie being called, but one could also argue that it's not Buffalo's fault the Bengals came into week 17 a game behind them in the conference race. It's also true that Cincy still clinches their division with a tie, so at least they have that going for them. Which is nice.  

[ehfeuh57]

1 minute ago, jethro_tull said:

heard on sports radio that the game must be played per nfl business.

 

Theres all kinds of stuff including an entire sportsbetting industry that has year long sports wagers that need to be settled.

[Beast]

19 minutes ago, Billznut said:

I wouldn’t bet on that. That game is now four days away. The Bills would have been putting in the offensive game plan today in practice. None of that is happening and the players heads will not be in the proper place to absorb a game plan most likely the next few days. I think Bills actually playing the Pats on Sunday is unlikely. And if they do play on Sunday with limited prep and their heads not right, would more than likely lead to them losing to the Pats anyways. No Bills fan should be wanting them to play in four days, it most likely won’t end the way we’d all want. 

the Bills will be playing football against the Patriots. The NFL is a business and it’s not just about one team. There are many teams that will be laying it on the line this weekend in hopes of making the playoffs.

 

Do you think the Dolphins, Steelers or Jaguars should go out onto the field and play a game of football and put themselves at risk of injury all the while the Bills don’t play and hand the Patriots a playoff spot? Should the Bengals forfeit to the Ravens and let the Ravens claim a division title because they most certainly were shook by this as well? Should they all cancel their games too after the blood, sweat and tears they put into this season going back to mini-camps?

 

I guarantee you everyone in the NFL as well as fans of football are all pulling and praying for a Hamlin recovery. In the meantime, there will be games. And the Bills will be part of them.

Edited January 3, 2023 by Beast

[Boatdrinks]

8 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

Well if it was on the radio...

That’s almost as good as the interwebs, right ?

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

As crazy as it might sound, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Bills don’t play another game this year. No matter how that looks if they just say they are done…wouldn’t surprise me at all

[Motorin']

Just now, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

As crazy as it might sound, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Bills don’t play another game this year. No matter how that looks if they just say they are done…wouldn’t surprise me at all

 

It's really up to them. I would be surprised to see them play this week.

[MphsBillsfan]

Regardless of where the Bills are seeded, to add some type of silver lining, this could be their "let's win one for the Gipper" moments.

Except Hamlin makes a full recovery of course.

Just trying to be positive after witnessing it.  

[Warriorspikes51]

2 minutes ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

As crazy as it might sound, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Bills don’t play another game this year. No matter how that looks if they just say they are done…wouldn’t surprise me at all

I get where this is coming from…..but the Bills will understand that is not what Hamlin would want for his brothers. 

[BananaB]

32 minutes ago, Beast said:

The Bills are not going to skip, forfeit, stay at home with their families…yada yada this Sunday. They will be playing the New England Patriots. 
 

Now if you want to debate whether or not their heads will be in that game, that is a valid point for discussion.

Nothing to debate about, I’m saying that’s probably what they’d rather do. Calm down fella

Edited January 3, 2023 by BananaB

[BRH]

Another thing to consider: 

 

Every single team was affected by what happened last night, not just the Bills and Bengals.  That was the only game on and I guarantee you almost every single player saw it happen in real time.  Of course it's not as impactful if you're watching on television, but I think every player now has something in the back of their minds that wasn't there before last night.

 

There are 17 former Pitt players currently on an NFL active roster and another half-dozen on practice squads.  Several of them were Hamlin's teammates in college, including Kenny Pickett.  This impacted a lot more than just the two teams on the field last night.

 

Of course the NFL will do everything in its power to avoid canceling an entire weekend of games.  But if the news out of UC Medical Center doesn't improve as the week goes on, and especially if it gets worse... I have to think we're not going to see very good football across the league this weekend.

[Italian Bills]

10 minutes ago, Beast said:

the Bills will be playing football against the Patriots. The NFL is a business and it’s not just about one team. There are many teams that will be laying it on the line this weekend in hopes of making the playoffs.

 

Do you think the Dolphins, Steelers or Jaguars should go out onto the field and play a game of football and put themselves at risk of injury all the while the Bills don’t play and hand the Patriots a playoff spot? Should the Bengals forfeit to the Ravens and let the Ravens claim a division title because they most certainly were shook by this as well? Should they all cancel their games too after the blood, sweat and tears they put into this season going back to mini-camps?

 

I guarantee you everyone in the NFL as well as fans of football are all pulling and praying for a Hamlin recovery. In the meantime, there will be games. And the Bills will be part of them.

Giving a win to both Bills and Cincy will leave everything intact, with all three teams (KC also) with the chance to get the n.1 seed with a win and other possible teams losses. 

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

1 minute ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

I get where this is coming from…..but the Bills will understand that is not what Hamlin would want for his brothers. 

I’m not saying they will or won’t. Just saying, everything is on the table here. Obviously if they got good news on Hamlin soon it would be all systems go. But the longer they wait, idk

[JoPoy88]

13 minutes ago, DrDare said:

 

Theres all kinds of stuff including an entire sportsbetting industry that has year long sports wagers that need to be settled.

nothing “needs” to be settled. The books will void the bets return the money and move on (just like they did last night when the game was called.)

[BillzFreak]

1 minute ago, BananaB said:

Nothing to debate about, I’m saying that’s probably what they’d rather do. Calm down fella

Actually there is allot to debate about, if those players aren't mentally prepared to play a nfl caliber football game, you risk injury. And there is no way our head coach would ever risk people he truly cares about for the business. McDermott regardless of what we think of him as a x's and o's coach wouldn't do it. 

[ehfeuh57]

1 minute ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

I’m not saying they will or won’t. Just saying, everything is on the table here. Obviously if they got good news on Hamlin soon it would be all systems go. But the longer they wait, idk

 

Let me guess, you think the stock market is going to go up or it could go down also.

[mjt328]

3 hours ago, TC in St. Louis said:

They can eliminate the week off between the Championship games and the Super Bowl, and just add another week to the schedule.  If the Bills win (and beat the Pats this week), they will get a bye.  If Cinci wins, KC will probably get another week off.

 

If they are going to finish the game, this is really the only option.  None of the playoff games have been scheduled yet, and can easily be pushed out another week.  The Pro-Bowl can be pushed to after the Super Bowl (where it used to be).  

 

The biggest issues with this are the NFL losing revenue from missing out on the extra "media week"... along with giving all the other playoff teams (outside of the Bills/Bengals) an extra rest week to get healthy.  However, you are creating an even BIGGER competitive disadvantage by forfeiting the game.  If you don't play the game, it likely hands Kansas City the #1 seed and potentially allows the Ravens to win the AFC North.

 

At this point, I question how the Bills can even move ahead with their game on Sunday against the Patriots.  With all the weight of this season, they may be mentally shot anyway.

[Dick_Cheney]

9 minutes ago, Italian Bills said:

Giving a win to both Bills and Cincy will leave everything intact, with all three teams (KC also) with the chance to get the n.1 seed with a win and other possible teams losses. 

Yeah, I personally hope they do this.

[Mango]

9 minutes ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

I’m not saying they will or won’t. Just saying, everything is on the table here. Obviously if they got good news on Hamlin soon it would be all systems go. But the longer they wait, idk

I don’t know think Hamlin’s status matter in regards to scheduling. 
 

Hi literally died in front of his entire team and the country. He was brought back to life after 9 minutes. 
 

I am very concerned with Hamlin as a person. But he already died on national TV. There’s zero reason to play this game.