Let’s begin this article by acknowledging something: We may not even be watching this game on Sunday. Damar Hamlin’s collapse on the field from a cardiac event during Bills-Bengals and ongoing hospitalization has profoundly shaken the league, its players and coaches, and fans, and there has been open talk of the league pushing back the Week 18 schedule entirely. For all its inherent dangers and frequent scary on-field moments, this was something else entirely, and an incredibly grave moment that we’re all still reeling from.
If players and coaches want to play while they anxiously await word of Hamlin’s health, then they should do so, but the league should be prepared to postpone if there’s no desire to play.