After the NFL’s postponement of the Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game in the wake of safety Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field on Monday night, the league was left with a logistical problem – an unfinished game between teams thick in the scramble for AFC playoff seeding, the regular season set to end on Sunday and postseason games scheduled to start on Jan. 14.
With Hamlin in critical condition at University of Cincinnati Medical Center because his heart stopped after making a tackle, the focus has been on the injured player and his recovery, not football. But that’s had to change as the NFL’s owners on Friday tried to plug the holes caused by the Monday night cancellation, and the league returns to the field this weekend with two games on Saturday and 14 on Sunday and three playoff spots still unclaimed.
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The transition won’t be easy for some players after Hamlin’s near-death experience traumatized the league.
“It was just so heartbreaking to see that play and how it seemed that it was just a normal play and it was a detrimental play to him,” Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis said on Wednesday. “It’s just a sad thing to see for the sport. My heart and prayers really go out to him. Last night, I couldn’t sleep just kind of thinking about how many times I’ve been in that position and how I would feel if it happened to one of my teammates. I couldn’t even fathom finishing a game. At that point, it’s just about life. It’s about getting home to your family. It’s about coming out alive, man.”
Davis said Hamlin’s incident went beyond the normal injury situations that occur in every NFL game.
“You can’t go out there thinking about it,” Davis said. “But when you see a play like that, it just puts everything in perspective, like that can happen to you. And it did happen that play, so it’s like: What’s the chances it could happen to any one of us? You want to be as safe as possible, but you can’t ignore that.”
The former Auburn standout’s team isn’t involved in one of the pivotal games this weekend. The Buccaneers secured the NFC South title by beating the Carolina Panthers 30-24 on Sunday and will be the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs. Tampa Bay concludes its regular season against the Atlanta Falcons, a team no longer involved in the playoff race.
In the other conference, the South Division title won’t be decided until Saturday night, when the winner of the Tennessee Titans-Jacksonville Jaguars will claim the crown and a home game in the AFC playoffs.
Titans running back Derrick Henry said he and his teammates need to be ready to play.
“I think they handled that game and that situation very well on both sides, the unity that they both showed with that situation that happened,” Henry said on Wednesday about the Monday night game. “But I think we still have to play. I know a lot of guys are probably shook up by it. I was — the whole NFL community and all the players and things like that. Everybody around’s just praying for Damar, but I think we still have to play. This game’s set. But at the end of the day, I think everybody’s just praying for everybody’s safety and want to be as safe as possible.”
The former Alabama All-American said he had talked to his teammates about what happened to Hamlin.
“Just told the team to be grateful for every day and for this game and life in general because nothing’s promised to us,” Henry said. “Anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Always give God thanks for what you have. As a kid we wanted to play this game and fulfill this dream, and sometimes life gets hard. But at the end of the day, God puts you in situations for you to see it through and just have faith in him and everything that’s going on.”
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The Alabama Game of the Week is the Cleveland Browns-Pittsburgh Steelers contest on Sunday. Sixteen players from Alabama high schools and colleges are on the teams’ active rosters.
The complete Week 18 schedule (with all times Central and point spreads from Catena):
Saturday
· Kansas City Chiefs (-9) at Las Vegas Raiders, 3:30 p.m. (ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
· Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars (-6.5), 7:15 p.m. (ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
Sunday
· Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons (-4.5), noon (WBRC, WZDX, WCOV, WDFX)
· New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills (-7.5), noon (WIAT, WHNT, WKRG, WAKA, WTVY)
· Minnesota Vikings (-7.5) at Chicago Bears, noon
· Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals (-10), noon
· Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts (-2.5), noon
· New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (-3.5), noon
· Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints (-3.5), noon (WALA)
· Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers (-2), noon
· New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles (-14), 3:25 p.m. (WIAT, WHNT, WKRG, WAKA, WTVY)
· Dallas Cowboys (-7) at Washington Commanders, 3:25 p.m. (WBRC, WZDX, WALA, WCOV, WDFX)
· Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos (-3), 3:25 p.m.
· Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks (-6), 3:25 p.m.
· Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers (-14), 3:25 p.m.
· Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers (-5), 7:20 p.m. (NBC, Universo)
CHECK OUT MAPS OF SUNDAY’S BROADCAST TV COVERAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
