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The NFL has not yet decided if or when the Week 17 game between the Bills and Bengals will resume. There’s another dilemma that may be looming for the league.
During a conference call Wednesday afternoon on Damar Hamlin’s situation, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent did not rule out the possibility of rescheduling the Week 18 game between the Patriots and the Bills if the Bills’ players and coaches are not prepared to proceed.
“We didn’t have that discussion,” Vincent said regarding the possibility of rescheduling the Buffalo game. “It’s really important that we just keep our finger on the pulse of the coach and the players and don’t get ahead of ourselves. And we will allow Sean [McDermott] and his team and staff and his players who are the most important thing here to guide this if we have to make this decision together with the club.
On the one hand, it would be very hard to imagine the Bills not playing in Week 18 when they will most likely never finish their game in Week 17. On the other hand, it’s impossible to expect Bills’ players and coaches to keep going unless they’re ready to play.
Really, who would expect that from you? They experienced trauma that may not have healed enough to allow them to properly collect themselves and play football just six days later. If they can process their feelings and perform properly and confidently, that’s great. If they can’t, that’s a decision someone will have to make in due course.
Time remains the keyword. As Steve Miller said, time slips, slips, slips further into the future. At some point, time will make decisions for you.