Buffalo Safety-Damar Hamlin is awake and **Bills at Bengals** Game has been Canceled (3 Viewers)

[SengerCJ]

So looking at this strictly from a football point of view, I don’t see how this game is played. The bills are reportedly flying home tonight, so I think that rules out restarting this Tuesday or Wednesday. I don’t see them pushing back the super bowl and the playoffs to have this game go on after week 18, logistics of that aside, the bengals and bills would have to play a game while everyone has a bye week. I think this games a draw. Unprecedented situation, most of all hoping for the best for Hamlin.

 

[menobrown]

So looking at this strictly from a football point of view, I don’t see how this game is played. The bills are reportedly flying home tonight, so I think that rules out restarting this Tuesday or Wednesday

I don't know what they are going to do but a direct flight from Buffalo to Cincy is less time then some people make on their daily commute to their place of employment, about an hour and 15 minutes.

 

[BassNBrew]

So looking at this strictly from a football point of view, I don’t see how this game is played. The bills are reportedly flying home tonight, so I think that rules out restarting this Tuesday or Wednesday. I don’t see them pushing back the super bowl and the playoffs to have this game go on after week 18, logistics of that asides, the bengals and bills would have to play a game while everyone has a bye week. I think this games a draw. Unprecedented situation, most of all hoping for the best for Hamlin.

They aren't making up rules and handing out draws. It's an 1h17m flight to Buffalo. Probably quicker and easier than throwing to together hotels arrangements. Phillip Rivers commute 1h18m three days a week to practice.

 

[SengerCJ]

So looking at this strictly from a football point of view, I don’t see how this game is played. The bills are reportedly flying home tonight, so I think that rules out restarting this Tuesday or Wednesday

I don't know what they are going to do but a direct flight from Buffalo to Cincy is less time then some people make on their daily commute to their place of employment, about an hour and 15 minutes.

So looking at this strictly from a football point of view, I don’t see how this game is played. The bills are reportedly flying home tonight, so I think that rules out restarting this Tuesday or Wednesday. I don’t see them pushing back the super bowl and the playoffs to have this game go on after week 18, logistics of that asides, the bengals and bills would have to play a game while everyone has a bye week. I think this games a draw. Unprecedented situation, most of all hoping for the best for Hamlin.

They aren't making up rules and handing out draws. It's an 1h17m flight to Buffalo. Probably quicker and easier than throwing to together hotels arrangements. Phillip Rivers commute 1h18m three days a week to practice.

I understand how insignificant a flight between Buffalo and Cincinnati is but for a team to do so just to fly back 12-36 hours later seems really odd to me. I guess I’m wrong for assuming that’s not in the cards

 

[Terminalxylem]

Another thing to take to mind:. Truly awesome job by the medical staff. We are quick to rag on the NFL, refs, etc, but give credit the the medical staff. They saved a life tonight.

It’s crazy to think but read a doc on Twitter who said this is “the best” place to collapse with an issue. Trained people everywhere and very close.

Yep. While any cardiac arrest is terrible, rapid, high quality CPR and immediate access to an AED for a shockable rhythm are best case scenarios. Delays in getting blood circulating causes organ damage, most critically to the brain.

About 90% of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die. A subset of those who don’t suffer permanent brain damage, including some who remain in a vegetative state. Given the circumstances, Hamlin’s arrest was more similar to that occurring in a hospital, where the survival rates are more than twice as high.

So you are saying that he had an 80% chance of dying on the field?

No. That‘s overall survival for in-hospital arrests. But most hospitalized patients aren’t young, elite athletes, so Hamlin’s chances are much better.

There are many variables in play here. If indeed his condition resulted from commotio cordis, and he has a structurally normal heart, recovery will be contingent on adequacy of CPR and how quickly spontaneous circulation returned - both are critical to minimize risk of permanent brain damage.

If his heart ain’t normal, or his brain didn’t receive oxygenated blood for an extended period, all bets are off.

ETA I see others, including Growlers and renesauz have covered it.

 

[TeeDub]

I don’t see this game playing by Wednesday. Have a strong feeling it’ll be a draw or both teams will agree to end it at what the score is now.
If the nfl forces them to play when they don’t feel ready to I can see them forfeiting

 

[FreeBaGeL]

A friend of mine runs a sawmill in Northern Minnesota. A guy was killed on the job. The business shut down for the day. The next day it was up and running again.

Of course it seems callous. But that's the way things work.

Employee at the ski resort here (Park City Mountain Resort, so no small resort) was killed today when a tree fell on the chair lift line. Resort plans to open tomorrow.

Though I do agree w/ postponing the NFL game.

Not but 5 miles from there a Nascar driver was also killed today in a snowmobile accident. Crazy and sad how much this stuff happens :(

 

[Bri]

@BassNBrew
I don't see it because of the timing too.

IIRC they're guaranteed at least three rest days between games. If they're making this up, they have two days to do it.

 

[BassNBrew]

I don’t see this game playing by Wednesday. Have a strong feeling it’ll be a draw or both teams will agree to end it at what the score is now.
If the nfl forces them to play when they don’t feel ready to I can see them forfeiting

Lots of posts about calling this game a draw. Please explain the mechanism where the NFL opens up this pandora's box.

 

[Bri]

Bills returning/flying to Buffalo per Josina Anderson

 

[BassNBrew]

A friend of mine runs a sawmill in Northern Minnesota. A guy was killed on the job. The business shut down for the day. The next day it was up and running again.

Of course it seems callous. But that's the way things work.

Employee at the ski resort here (Park City Mountain Resort, so no small resort) was killed today when a tree fell on the chair lift line. Resort plans to open tomorrow.

Though I do agree w/ postponing the NFL game.

Not but 5 miles from there a Nascar driver was also killed today in a snowmobile accident. Crazy and sad how much this stuff happens :(

Wow that's tough but it won't get traction because the cameras weren't rolling.

Now imagine how fast the resort opens if several hundred millions were on the line.

 

[Bri]

I don’t see this game playing by Wednesday. Have a strong feeling it’ll be a draw or both teams will agree to end it at what the score is now.
If the nfl forces them to play when they don’t feel ready to I can see them forfeiting

Lots of posts about calling this game a draw. Please explain the mechanism where the NFL opens up this pandora's box.

The Titans played the Dolphins 4-5 years back and it was delayed a few times for lightning and a bad storm.
They did discuss calling that game during the last break.
It never happens. It was like a 6-7 hour game, but that's the only time I can remember it being discussed.

I should probably add that during the breaks they were telling fans to seek shelter

 

[TeeDub]

I don’t see this game playing by Wednesday. Have a strong feeling it’ll be a draw or both teams will agree to end it at what the score is now.
If the nfl forces them to play when they don’t feel ready to I can see them forfeiting

Lots of posts about calling this game a draw. Please explain the mechanism where the NFL opens up this pandora's box.

Then they just agree to end it at what the score currently is. This is NFL’s worst case scenario that happened on national television. I’m sure they’ll let both organizations discuss an outcome for this. They’re not going to play if they don’t want to

 

[renesauz]

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

 

[TeeDub]

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

And what happened if an employee didn’t want to work that next day because they weren’t emotionally fit to work?

 

[Bri]

Reading gambling rules are all bets are voided after Wednesday.
Not....just that might matter to some folks reading this thread

 

[fatness]

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

Years ago at my current job a contractor's employee jumped into a trench to direct the operator of a piece of construction equipment, who could not hear him due to equipment noise. The operator turned the machine and killed the employee who had jumped into the trench instantly. The guy killed was the son of the company owner. They took a day off and then resumed, and to this day the employees who remember it regret getting back to work that soon. The guy who was killed and his father, the owner, were not the only ones who suffered. Which is why I posted this earlier:

"The old days were concerned only about players' physical health. Now there is concern for both the physical and mental health of players, and not just the player laying prone on the field. Thankfully."

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

And what happened if an employee didn’t want to work that next day because they weren’t emotionally fit to work?

Worst case scenario is they get fired and replaced by someone else, because I doubt they're one of the 1700 very best car dealership employees on the planet, and they probably don't have a powerful union, nor do they have fans wearing their names on the backs of their shirts.

 

[ghostguy123]

Reading gambling rules are all bets are voided after Wednesday.
Not....just that might matter to some folks reading this thread

My bet was cancelled

 

[ghostguy123]

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

Years ago at my current job a contractor's employee jumped into a trench to direct the operator of a piece of construction equipment, who could not hear him due to equipment noise. The operator turned the machine and killed the employee who had jumped into the trench instantly. The guy killed was the son of the company owner. They took a day off and then resumed, and to this day the employees who remember it regret getting back to work that soon. The guy who was killed and his father, the owner, were not the only ones who suffered. Which is why I posted this earlier:

"The old days were concerned only about players' physical health. Now there is concern for both the physical and mental health of players, and not just the player laying prone on the field. Thankfully."

Some people want to get back to work right away after tragedy. Some NEED time away.
It get complicated for a team sport. No matter what they decide, some players will have wanted to play sooner, and some will still not be ready.
Neither of them are wrong.

 

[TeeDub]

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

And what happened if an employee didn’t want to work that next day because they weren’t emotionally fit to work?

Worst case scenario is they get fired and replaced by someone else, because I doubt they're one of the 1700 very best car dealership employees on the planet, and they probably don't have a powerful union, nor do they have fans wearing their names on the backs of their shirts.

What do you think the nfl would do if a team decided to do this collectively?

 

[BassNBrew]

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

And what happened if an employee didn’t want to work that next day because they weren’t emotionally fit to work?

Probably took PTO.

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

I was in a three day race event where on day two the guy in front of me slid on some gravel into the wheel well of an oncoming car. Close enough that I was dodging bottles and bike debris. Blood was spewing like a fire hose. Tough to finish after witnessing that as it was sickening. That guy was a 35ish yo doctor with kids. The 3rd day of the event went on the next day.

Erik Lie-Nielsen (35) died when he crashed his bicycle into a car during a race - MyDeathSpace.com

www.mydeathspace.com

Hopefully this situation turns out with a happy ending and the players can get back to their sport soon.

 

[BassNBrew]

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

And what happened if an employee didn’t want to work that next day because they weren’t emotionally fit to work?

Worst case scenario is they get fired and replaced by someone else, because I doubt they're one of the 1700 very best car dealership employees on the planet, and they probably don't have a powerful union, nor do they have fans wearing their names on the backs of their shirts.

What do you think the nfl would do if a team decided to do this collectively?

I think it's a slippery slope that they use their influence to prevent. Let's assume Hamiln lives and is fine. Would a team be any less justified not to play if the star QBs wife of kid passed the day before or a coaching member had a heart attack and was in critical condition? As soon as you say situation A warrants this, then you have to weigh the importance of situation B, C, and D vs. that event. That's not a good situation for anyone. I think the NFL tries to kick that can down the road as long as possible. Someday you are going to have a terrorist attack or other disaster at a stadium and have to sort this out. If a fan gets struck by lightning and dies do you cancel the game? What if it's 20 fans?

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

And what happened if an employee didn’t want to work that next day because they weren’t emotionally fit to work?

Worst case scenario is they get fired and replaced by someone else, because I doubt they're one of the 1700 very best car dealership employees on the planet, and they probably don't have a powerful union, nor do they have fans wearing their names on the backs of their shirts.

What do you think the nfl would do if a team decided to do this collectively?

You mean if they didn't want to work? Teams don't do things like that. The players do it via their union, and that means all players would be involved or publicly support the teams in question. And the teams would certainly back their players to maintain good relations (and maybe even because they'd agree with them).
And if the owners didn't like it, they'd keep their mouths shut.

 

[menobrown]

This seems like good news and I hope it is but I'll ask a stupid question because I know several of you here will know but what does it mean if his heartbeat is restored but he's not able to breath on his own as was reported earlier?

Buffalo Bills

@BuffaloBills


Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.

 

[renesauz]

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

And what happened if an employee didn’t want to work that next day because they weren’t emotionally fit to work?

A couple of the mechanics took a couple extra days off.

There's no easy answer to this. But many hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake. There's no mechanism for calling it a draw. Either they play it in a couple of days or the Bills will forfeit. There are no other answers. If the Bills choose to forfeit, NOBODY (with any sliver of humanity/heart) is gonna judge them ill for it. I think that decision should be made by the Bills players sometime tomorrow afternoon (meaning Tuesday afternoon/early evening). Not by the league, nor by us fans....but by the guys most directly affected.

 

[renesauz]

This seems like good news and I hope it is but I'll ask a stupid question because I know several of you here will know but what does it mean if his heartbeat is restored but he's not able to breath on his own as was reported earlier?

Buffalo Bills
@BuffaloBills


Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.

No matter how quick the CPR is started, there was some period of time without blood flow to the brain. Unlike muscles (which will easily survive a few minutes without oxygen) or other organs (which also can survive some time PLUS those cells store some oxygen), brain cells cannot survive long without oxygen. Also, brain cells don't STORE oxygen...which is why people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest immediately pass out. This will cause some damage. Good, quick CPR will limit that damage to mostly recoverable stuff. But the person may be very affected short term...including with things like breathing (which is actually fairly complex process involving muscles). Something like breathing is unlikely to be damaged long term without other very serious debilitations though (other brain damage)
There was one report that mentioned medications to sedate him...a very good sign. But it could be several days before a real idea of what kind of recovery he will have is known. I always tell my families that things like spontaneous/semi-purposeful movement and over breathing the vent on day one are very good signs. Seizures/posturing, no need for any sedatives at all, lack of basic reflexes such as the ability to cough or gag are bad signs but not definitive on day 1.

Bottom line is that it's too soon to be sure

 

[ghostguy123]

Feel free to fire away but I suspect we'll get Hamiln wants us to play or would have wanted us to play. once people digest most business aren't shutting down when an employee has something really bad happen at work.

I'm not going to fire away at all. But characterizing "had his heart and breathing stop" as "something really bad happening at work" really minimizes what happened tonight, and isn't reflective of what actually happened.

Some people die at work and some are badly injured. I used the phase something really bad because we don't know if Hamlin's end result at this time. I didn't mean to downplay waht happened to him but I also didn't want to downplay someone getting killed and compared it to Hamlin who hopefully survives.

Years ago when I worked at a car dealership we had a car fall off a lift and kill a guy. We were open the next day.

And what happened if an employee didn’t want to work that next day because they weren’t emotionally fit to work?

A couple of the mechanics took a couple extra days off.

There's no easy answer to this. But many hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake. There's no mechanism for calling it a draw. Either they play it in a couple of days or the Bills will forfeit. There are no other answers. If the Bills choose to forfeit, NOBODY (with any sliver of humanity/heart) is gonna judge them ill for it. I think that decision should be made by the Bills players sometime tomorrow afternoon (meaning Tuesday afternoon/early evening). Not by the league, nor by us fans....but by the guys most directly affected.

A forfeit seems fairly likely given the situation/timing.
Seems fine.

 

[Wingnut]

In case is hasn't been posted yet, tweet by the Buffalo Bills:

Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.

https://twitter.com/BuffaloBills/status/1610166228559052801?t=9t3iPBvwyMpUawilwMriTg&s=19

 

[titusbramble]

Reading gambling rules are all bets are voided after Wednesday.
Not....just that might matter to some folks reading this thread

My bet was cancelled

My Diggs props are still outstanding

There's no easy answer to this. But many hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake. There's no mechanism for calling it a draw. Either they play it in a couple of days or the Bills will forfeit.

What if both teams decide to forfeit?

 

[BassNBrew]

Reading gambling rules are all bets are voided after Wednesday.
Not....just that might matter to some folks reading this thread

My bet was cancelled

My Diggs props are still outstanding

There's no easy answer to this. But many hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake. There's no mechanism for calling it a draw. Either they play it in a couple of days or the Bills will forfeit.

What if both teams decide to forfeit?

What if all 32 teams decide to forfeit?

 

[BobbyLayne]

Relieved to hear the updates on Damar Hamlin. We’ll have to be patient wrt the long term outcome but this is very promising.

Haven’t read all of the thread, but want to thank folks with medical knowledge for sharing their expertise and experiences.

Not an insignificant level of toxicity sprinkled throughout this. For a variety of reasons that’s not uncommon. But we can do better.

When I say that what I’m thinking about is I’ve been guilty of being less than excellence. Elsewhere, at other other times, but the larger point remains. In 2023 I’d like to be better.

Be kind. Whether it’s here in the relative anonymity of the web, or at work, in line at a store, during a frustrating commute - we often have no idea what the person next to us is carrying around or what they are dealing with rn. Insomuch as it is possible, let’s be kind to one another.

 

[BobbyLayne]

They’ve been playing NFL games since 1920. In the roughly ~ 17,400 games they have played under the shield, a man’s heart has stopped twice.

(perhaps there were other instances I’m not aware of?)

After Chuck Hughes suffered a heart attack on the 15 yard line of Tiger Stadium in October, 1971, he was immediately transferred to Henry Ford Hospital. He would be pronounced dead at 5:34pm, a little over an hour after had collapsed. The players, still in their respective locker rooms, were informed of the news.

There was 1:02 left in the 4th quarter of that game. It was played to its conclusion.

Very different situation last night. IMO it was wholly appropriate to stop the game. How to resolve that will likely get figured out later today. It’s complicated.

I don’t think this situation is, at all, a potentially slippery slope. I think it’s an extremely rare and very infrequent catastrophic event.

Once every 50-70 years does [not] demand a policy. Sometimes it is perfectly fine to not have a policy. Simply treat once a generation events as a singular occurrence and deal with it as required.

 

[scottybo]

Good luck to whoever decides when we move on/forward from this and start focusing on football/fantasy football. How do we do it?

 

[ghostguy123]

Good luck to whoever decides when we move on/forward from this and start focusing on football/fantasy football. How do we do it?

It will happen quickly. Can pretty much guarantee it.
People are resilient. You have to be. Lot of horrific stuff happening every day. We all move on because we HAVE to

 

[-OZ-]

Reading gambling rules are all bets are voided after Wednesday.
Not....just that might matter to some folks reading this thread

My bet was cancelled

My Diggs props are still outstanding

There's no easy answer to this. But many hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake. There's no mechanism for calling it a draw. Either they play it in a couple of days or the Bills will forfeit.

What if both teams decide to forfeit?

Just call it a tie or canceled, which has the same effect. There isn’t a better solution imo. Baltimore fans might be slightly upset as they wouldn’t be able to catch them even if the ravens win next week. I’m not seeing other significant fallout except fantasy.

 

[ghostguy123]

Reading gambling rules are all bets are voided after Wednesday.
Not....just that might matter to some folks reading this thread

My bet was cancelled

My Diggs props are still outstanding

There's no easy answer to this. But many hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake. There's no mechanism for calling it a draw. Either they play it in a couple of days or the Bills will forfeit.

What if both teams decide to forfeit?

Just call it a tie or canceled, which has the same effect. There isn’t a better solution imo. Baltimore fans might be slightly upset as they wouldn’t be able to catch them even if the ravens win next week. I’m not seeing other significant fallout except fantasy.

If the game isn't played, there's really no good solution unfortunately

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Baltimore fans might be slightly upset as they wouldn’t be able to catch them even if the ravens win next week.

I follow the Ravens and I think a tie is the best available solution. It's not a great solution, but I think it's the most fair option.

 

[GroveDiesel]

I’ll walk back a bit of my initial anger at the NFL if the reports are true that there was never any 5 minutes and then play resumes order. That’s good. And shame on whoever put that out there if that wasn’t true.

 

[amnesiac]

I’ll walk back a bit of my initial anger at the NFL if the reports are true that there was never any 5 minutes and then play resumes order. That’s good. And shame on whoever put that out there if that wasn’t true.

The announcers of the game got it from somewhere. They didn’t make it up.

 

[(HULK)]

I wouldn't read too much into the Bills going back to Buffalo, that was always the plan post game. The game was cancelled at like 10 PM, they were not finding a hotel for the entire team on a holiday weekend at that point. So, unless they were going to sleep on the street, they had to go back.

 

[(HULK)]

I’ll walk back a bit of my initial anger at the NFL if the reports are true that there was never any 5 minutes and then play resumes order. That’s good. And shame on whoever put that out there if that wasn’t true.

The announcers of the game got it from somewhere. They didn’t make it up.

The players actually started warming up and the clock update I think. It happened.

My take is the NFL told them to resume and the coaches said no.

 

[amnesiac]

I’ll walk back a bit of my initial anger at the NFL if the reports are true that there was never any 5 minutes and then play resumes order. That’s good. And shame on whoever put that out there if that wasn’t true.

The announcers of the game got it from somewhere. They didn’t make it up.

The players actually started warming up and the clock update I think. It happened.

My take is the NFL told them to resume and the coaches said no.

It sure seems like that’s what happened.

And that’s being reported out there as well.

NFL is going to have to go into full spin mode for this gaffe.

 

[WDIK2]

The 5 minutes to warm up thing may just be the SOP the refs went with after a "normal" extended injury or other delay in a game occurs. This was not a normal injury or delay.

 

[Godsbrother]

I wouldn't read too much into the Bills going back to Buffalo, that was always the plan post game. The game was cancelled at like 10 PM, they were not finding a hotel for the entire team on a holiday weekend at that point. So, unless they were going to sleep on the street, they had to go back.

If we got news today that Damar was going to be okay then they could possibly play the game on Wednesday though I doubt that happens.

I have no idea what they'll do given the significance of the game and the fact that it could be days before we know for certain whether or not Damar is going to recover. They could possibly replay last night's game this coming weekend, push the playoffs back a week, play the Week 18 games next week as scheduled and have the Bengals/Ravens, Patriots/Bills play with what would have been the wildcard playoff weekend. Seems pretty complicated though.

A Bills forfeit seems excessively harsh given the circumstances. My guess is they will just cancel the game and Bills & Bengals just play a 16 game schedule.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

A Bills forfeit seems excessively harsh given the circumstances

Agreed. The NFL would be all kinds of wrong to impose a forfeit.

 

[Godsbrother]

It sure seems like that’s what happened.

And that’s being reported out there as well.

NFL is going to have to go into full spin mode for this gaffe.

Maybe but give this unprecedented situation in USA professional sports I think criticism of the NFL, ESPN or anyone else is unjustified.

 

[amnesiac]

The 5 minutes to warm up thing may just be the SOP the refs went with after a "normal" extended injury or other delay in a game occurs. This was not a normal injury or delay.

good point. but why were they left with no directive from the NFL in the first place?

all they had to do was tell the refs the game was suspended until we tell you otherwise.

 

[amnesiac]

It sure seems like that’s what happened.

And that’s being reported out there as well.

NFL is going to have to go into full spin mode for this gaffe.

Maybe but give this unprecedented situation in USA professional sports I think criticism of the NFL, ESPN or anyone else is unjustified.

“Hey Roger, one of the players is getting CPR on the field, what should we do?”

“Oh, I dunno. Let the refs sort it out.”

 

[timschochet]

The 5 minutes to warm up thing may just be the SOP the refs went with after a "normal" extended injury or other delay in a game occurs. This was not a normal injury or delay.

good point. but why were they left with no directive from the NFL in the first place?

all they had to do was tell the refs the game was suspended until we tell you otherwise.

My guess is simple inertia. I strongly doubt anyone in authority at the NFL issued a “let’s play on!” Instruction. Probably everybody was just watching in shock.