What NFL’s Bills-Bengals Update Means For Patriots-Buffalo Game

The NFL on Tuesday afternoon offered a slightly clearer picture of how it will proceed after Monday’s chilling scene involving Bills safety Damar Hamlin.

The league announced that, with Hamlin still in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital, the Bills-Bengals game will not resume this week. It’s unclear when/if the Week 17 matchup — which carries significant playoff implications — will be resumed before the start of the postseason.

The NFL also revealed that it hadn’t made any changes to the Week 18 schedule, which includes a Sunday afternoon matchup between Buffalo and the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium. The game in theory still could be pushed to Monday, if not later, but as of Tuesday afternoon, it remained on the Sunday slate for 1 p.m. ET. The contest also is important for playoff seeding, as the Patriots could clinch a postseason berth with a victory.

Here’s the league’s full update:

The NFL continues to be in regular contact with the medical team caring for Damar Hamlin, and also the Bills and Bengals organizations and the NFL Players Association.

After speaking with both teams and NFLPA leadership, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell informed the clubs today that the Bills-Bengals game will not be resumed this week.

The NFL has made no decision regarding the possible resumption of the game at a later date.
The league has not made any changes to the Week 18 regular season schedule.

We will continue to provide additional information as it becomes available.

Hamlin, a second-year safety out of Pittsburgh, suffered cardiac arrest during Monday’s game in Cincinnati. After having his heartbeat restored, the 24-year-old was transported to a Cincinnati hospital where he was sedated and put on a breathing tube.

He spent the night in the intensive-care unit and remained in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon.