We might be getting closer to an official decision on the postponed Bills-Bengals game, which remains in limbo following Monday’s chilling scene involving Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin.
The Week 17 matchup lasted just under nine minutes before Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and needed his heartbeat restored. As of Wednesday afternoon, the 24-year-old remained in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital while showing signs of improvement.
The NFL on Tuesday announced Bills-Bengals won’t be resumed this week. However, multiple league executives on Wednesday offered additional context on when/if the matchup will be resumed.
“NFL exec Jeff Miller said discussions about what to do with the Bills-Bengals game are ongoing,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted while taking part in a conference call. “He knows they have to make a decision on it ‘in the coming days’, but NFL exec Troy Vincent explains the league’s focus has been on Damar Hamlin.”
Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, also said conversations involving the game “have begun.”
If the NFL elects to make scheduling changes to accommodate Cincinnati and Buffalo, it could dust off the playbook it used during the 2020 season, which was played during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everything is being considered,” Vincent said, via NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. ” … The guiding principles that took us into the 2020 season with COVID are there.”
Vincent added: “It may not be perfect, but will allow those participating to play.”
The NFL also said that no changes have been made to Sunday’s scheduled game between the Bills and New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium. That said, it didn’t entirely rule out the possibility of the game being postponed.
The Patriots and Bills both conducted business Wednesday as if they intended to play Sunday. Obviously, much can change between now and then.
Follow NESN.com for further updates on all of these situations as they become available.
