NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Derrick Henry “rested, prepared to get that W” after sitting out Week 17



The Titans rested running back Derrick Henry in Week 17 in order to increase the chances that he’d be 100 percent for Saturday’s Week 18 AFC South title game with the Jaguars and it sounds like things have gone according to plan.

Henry has been a full participant in practice both days this week and he turned 29 on Wednesday, which he used as a reference point for how well he’s feeling as the team moves toward their shot at ending a six-game losing streak with a division title.


“I don’t feel 29 today,” Henry said, via Nick Suss of the Tennessean. “I feel great. Sitting down, rested, prepared to get that W.”

The Titans have only had two players out of practice this week, so it appears their approach to Week 17 is paying off with a healthier group than they had for their last few games. We’ll find out if that’s enough to halt their slide in a couple of days.

PFT

 

NFL Considering Two Options for Bills-Bengals Postponement, per Report

As the sports world continues to pull for a full recovery from Bills safety Damar Hamlin, the NFL remains faced with the task of figuring out viable paths forward for completing its regular season schedule. According to one report, the number of primary options is currently two.

Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network said Wednesday that the NFL is weighing a pair of options for how to handle the postponement of Monday night’s game between Buffalo and Cincinnati.

The first and most likely option is to declare the game a tie or a no contest. The second would send a ripple effect for the entire postseason slate.

“Another option—seemingly a maybe more unlikely option, but an option nonetheless—is to move back the playoffs, play this game in Week 19, eliminate the bye between the championship games and the Super Bowl, and move on from there,” Rapoport said. “Those are the kinds of things the league is discussing. I would expect some sort of announcement at some point soon.”



As SI‘s Albert Breer noted in his Wednesday mailbag, option No. 2 would present a whole host of hurdles to clear, primarily the fact that every playoff team besides the Bills and Bengals would essentially receive a bye before starting the postseason, putting Buffalo and Cincinnati at a disadvantage. Option No. 1 would benefit the Chiefs by giving control of securing the No. 1 seed, an advantage that was previously held by the Bills.

SI

 

Damar Hamlin’s father addressed Bills, told them Damar is making progress



The Bills heard good news on Wednesday from the father of safety Damar Hamlin.

Mario Hamlin spoke with the entire Bills team on a Zoom call on Wednesday and told them that Damar is making progress, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.


That good news follows the statement from the Bills yesterday, which also said Hamlin is making progress. Although Hamlin remains in critical condition since he collapsed on the field on Monday night, signs of progress come as welcome news to his family and his team.

The NFL is not ruling out postponing the Bills’ game against the Patriots on Sunday, and football has become secondary to the life-and-death situation facing Hamlin. But reassurance from Hamlin’s father may be a sign that the Bills will be able to conclude the season as scheduled on Sunday.

PFT

 

So the NFL is considering the two most obvious choices. Thanks, NFL.

 

That’s why they should just have contingencies in place to announce their decision on Bills-Bengals. That game may not even matter to the Bengals, if they beat the Ravens and the Chiefs win. If it’s not a positive outcome for the Bills or Bengals and no other team is effected, that team can opt out of that final game as long as the other team doesn’t oppose.

As for playing this week. Watching this happen in real time, I am personally invested and have been including Damar in my daily prayers. I didn't sleep well that night and after about 3 hours of sleep, still had that as my first thought as I woke up, wanting an update on the young man's health. I get the trauma involved with watching a teammate go down. Now is where I am going to sound a little cold hearted... This is there job. Talking about canceling more games, I just can't agree with. We have had two incidents at our place of work in the 24 years I have been here, one the gentleman passed away, the other was saved by a fellow employee doing CPR until medical staff could arrive nearly 12 minutes later. In both instances, our workplace wasn't shut down. The person who saved his life was told to take as much paid time off as needed. There were counselors available to anyone that needed them, for as long as they needed them, but the work day went on. By the way, that hero went back to work and finished out his last hour of the day and returned the next day. I know people are built differently to handle trauma and stress and he was an outlier. I also know that people that play in the NFL are built differently. If they don't have the mental capacity to play a game after a week long break, that has only had one of these specific incidents over the course of 100+ years, then I don't think they will be in the league very long. Many players were ready to go back to work that night. At this point, I would say it was more of a marketing ploy against the league if they say they can't play. These guys see catastrophic injuries occur every week and continue after the player is removed from the field. This was obviously 50 steps beyond that, but cancelling the game was also an extraordinary move.

Play week 18, have contingencies in place depending on the outcomes and move on. The beauty of the week 18 schedule is this... There isn't a single game after the 1:00 pm time slots that have any effect on this situation. They will be able to sort everything out BY 5:00 pm Sunday in regards to the Bengals-Bills need to play. Those conversations with all parties involved, if there are any issues, can be had in the evening hours and announced by 9:00 pm Sunday before the Packers vs Lions game is even over...maybe even on the pre-game telecast.

Nothing needs to be determined before week 18 games are complete.

 

NFL won’t resume Bills-Bengals game



It’s official. Almost.

We’ve heard since last night that signs are pointing to an official announcement that the Week 17 Bills-Bengals game won’t resume. Earlier this afternoon, we explained that the game most likely won’t continue, and that the league was otherwise trying to determine playoff seeding, given that the Bills and Bengals will finish the season with only 16 games each.


Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press now reports that the Bills-Bengals game will not continue. This seems to be a precursor to an official announcement, which likely will come today.

The NFL Players Association has scheduled a press briefing for 4:00 p.m. ET, regarding the Damar Hamlin situation.

There is no firm reporting on what the league will do regarding AFC playoff seeding. Various possibilities have been mentioned and discussed. There is no perfect option.

PFT
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If, Rob Maaddi knows what he's talking about... still unofficial.

 

Damar Hamlin's doctors say he's 'making substantial progress,' 'beginning to awaken' after on-field collapse

The Buffalo Bills have been through a lot since Monday when their teammate Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field, but Thursday was full of positive news about his health and progress.

Hamlin's doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center have announced that there has been "substantial improvement in his condition over the past 24 hours." His "neurological condition and function is intact" and he's "beginning to awaken." He's opened his eyes and has been moving his hands and feet.

Hamlin continues to be critically ill and will remain in intensive care for the time being, but it was clear the doctors were encouraged by how he's been responding. They were made sure to mention that he "still has significant progress he needs to make," but his progress over the last 24 hours "marks a really good turning point in his ongoing care."

The physicians also said that Hamlin has been responsive to questions and commands, and has even been asking questions of his own. He’s still intubated and on a ventilator, so he hasn’t been able to speak, but he’s been writing questions with a pen and paper. One of the first things Hamlin wanted to know? Who won Monday night's game.

Several times during the news conference, the doctors made a point to say that the lightning-quick response from the Bills and Bengals doctors and medical personnel on the field saved Hamlin's life and preserved his neurological function. They were at his side less than one minute after he collapsed, gave him CPR immediately, shocked his heart, and continued to perform CPR on him, all of which was vital to keeping his heart going until he could be put on a ventilator.

The Bills shared a less-detailed version of the physicians' report on Thursday morning, revealing that Hamlin had sown "remarkable improvement." One of his teammates also tweeted that he was awake and showing more signs of improvement.



IN PART/YAHOO

 

The AP usually doesn't mess around. This has always been the right call. Felt like the obvious answer, to me.

 

So the Chiefs get handed the number one seed without earning it. They lost to both the Bengals and the Bills

 

You should be happy. The Steelers can't play them on the first round. Of course the Bills might destroy them again

 

So if we beat our first rd opponent we get stuck with the other two of those two.

 

Competition Committee to vote on approach to AFC playoffs at 6:00 p.m. ET



The NFL is moving toward a solution, necessitated by the decision not to proceed with the Week 17 game between the Bills and Bengals.

Per multiple sources, the Competition Committee will convene at 6:00 p.m. ET to vote on the approach to AFC playoff seeding based on the fact that Buffalo and Cincinnati will have played 16 games, and that the rest of the conference will have played 17.


It’s unclear whether the vote will be binding. Most likely, it will proceed to the Commissioner, who could in theory veto it. Given the circumstances, it’s highly unlikely that a full ownership vote would be required.

Possibilities include a neutral site for the AFC Championship, if it involves two of the three teams most affected by the cancellation of the game — the Bills, Bengals, and Chiefs. Some have suggested that, if the Chiefs are the No. 1 seed, they would choose either the bye or home-field advantage against the Bills or Bengals, whichever finishes as the No. 2 seed.

The possibility of adding an eighth team to the AFC playoff field would require collective bargaining with the NFL Players Association. There is no indication that any such discussions with the union have happened.

There presumably is a small theoretical chance that Bills-Bengals will still be played, given the unexpected good news from earlier today about the status of Damar Hamlin. That would require configuration of the playoff schedule. All indications currently point, however, to the game not being played.

PFT

 

Owners will convene on Friday regarding AFC playoff seeding



The challenge of configuring the AFC playoffs absent the Week 17 game between the Bills and Bengals has escalated to the highest level of the sport.

Per multiple sources, the NFL’s owners will convene on Friday regarding the issue. The meeting will happen via videoconference, not in person.

With the Bills and Bengals not playing, the seeding would be determined based on winning percentage. But that would create a perceived unfair advantage for the Chiefs, who would capture the No. 1 seed simply by beating the Raiders on Saturday — even though the Chiefs have lost to the Bills and the Bengals. The situation also creates a competitive disadvantage for the Bengals, who could have landed at No. 2 or even at No. 1 if they had won the game against the Bills.

As one source explained it to PFT, the owners will have to resolve some “controversial” aspects of finalizing the plan. The specific options for the owners currently aren’t known.

It also isn’t known whether the situation would be resolved by a simple majority or a 24-vote supermajority.

Regardless, the league has yet to make a decision. On Friday, the owners hopefully will do so.

PFT
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Probably a good sign they are taking their time... need this to be fair as possible. Lots of things to consider and lots of things at stake.

 

Former Cleveland Browns running back was reportedly injured in a swimming accident where he saved his children from drowning in an ocean.

Hillis was reported to be in critical condition. The children were safe and healthy.

According to an update on Hillis, he is trending in a positive direction.

 

Week 17 Buffalo-Cincinnati game will not be resumed; neutral AFC Championship Game site being considered

The NFL announced today that the Week 17 Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals game will not be resumed and has been cancelled.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell informed all clubs of his decision earlier today, after speaking with the Bills, the Bengals and NFL Players Association leadership.

"This has been a very difficult week," Goodell said. "We continue to focus on the recovery of Damar Hamlin and are encouraged by the improvements in his condition as well as the tremendous outpouring of support and care for Damar and his family from across the country. We are also incredibly appreciative of the amazing work of the medical personnel and commend each and every one of them."

Among the key factors in arriving at this decision:

• Not playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion will have no effect on which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the postseason and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of this game.
• It would require postponing the start of the playoffs for one week, thereby affecting all 14 clubs that qualify for postseason play.
• Making the decision prior to Week 18 is consistent with our competitive principles and enables all clubs to know the playoff possibilities prior to playing the final weekend of regular season games.

Cancelling the game between the Bills and Bengals creates potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios. In an effort to mitigate those inequities, NFL clubs will consider tomorrow in a Special League Meeting a resolution recommended by the Commissioner and approved today by the Competition Committee, consisting of two elements:

1 - The AFC Championship Game will be played at a neutral site if the participating teams played an unequal number of games and both could have been the number one seed and hosted the game had all AFC clubs played a full 17-game regular season. Those circumstances involve Buffalo or Cincinnati qualifying for the game as a road team and are listed below:


Scenario 1

Buffalo and Kansas City both win or both tie – a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.

Scenario 2

Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore wins or ties – a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.

Scenario 3

Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins – a Buffalo or Cincinnati vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.

2 - If Baltimore defeats Cincinnati in Week 18 it will have defeated Cincinnati, a divisional opponent, twice but will not be able to host a playoff game because Cincinnati will have a higher winning percentage for a 16-game schedule than Baltimore will for a 17-game schedule.

If Baltimore defeats Cincinnati and if those two clubs are schedule to play a Wild Card game against one another, the site for that game would be determined by a coin toss. If Cincinnati wins the Week 18 game or if Baltimore and Cincinnati are not scheduled to play one another in the Wild Card round, the game sites would be determined by the regular scheduling procedures.


"As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities," Goodell said. "I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances."

NFL.com

 

Proposed AFC playoff contingencies: What you need to know

The NFL announced Thursday it has canceled the Week 17 game between the Bills and Bengals that was previously postponed following the tragic incident with Damar Hamlin on Monday night. As a result, the Bills and Bengals will finish the 2022 NFL regular season having played only 16 games, instead of the full 17. In an attempt to mitigate potential inequities, the NFL is holding a Special League Meeting on Friday where NFL clubs will consider one resolution consisting of two elements recommended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that have been approved by the Competition Committee.

Here's what you need to know about the proposals and the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game:

What is the impact of the Bills-Bengals game being canceled?
According to NFL Research:

• The Bengals have clinched the AFC North (Ravens cannot win the division).
• The Bengals can no longer obtain the AFC's No. 1 seed and first-round bye.
• The Chiefs clinch the No. 1 seed with a win at the Raiders or a Bills loss vs. the Patriots.
• The Bills clinch the No. 1 seed with a win vs. the Patriots + a Chiefs loss at the Raiders.
• The Bengals will finish as the No. 2 seed with a win vs. the Ravens + a Bills loss to the Patriots. In any other scenario, the Bengals will earn the No. 3 seed.

The AFC Championship Game could be played at a neutral site if:

1. Buffalo (12-3) and Kansas City (13-3) both win or tie in Week 18 + both teams advance to the AFC title game.
2. Buffalo (12-3) and Kansas City (13-3) both lose + Cincinnati (11-4) also loses or ties in Week 18 + Buffalo and Kansas City advance to the AFC title game.
3. Buffalo (12-3) and Kansas City (13-3) both lose + Cincinnati (11-4) wins + the AFC title game is either Bills-Chiefs or Bengals-Chiefs.

Who is the AFC North champion?
According to NFL Research, with the cancellation of the Bengals-Bills game from Week 17, the Cincinnati Bengals (11-4) have won the AFC North because they will have a better winning percentage than the Baltimore Ravens (10-6) regardless of the outcome of Sunday's game between the two division rivals.

In what scenario would the home team in a Bengals-Ravens playoff game be determined by a coin flip?

1. The Baltimore Ravens defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18 + the Ravens end up as the No. 6 seed.

In this scenario, the Bengals, as the AFC North champions, would hold the No. 3 seed and would be scheduled to face the 6th-seeded Ravens during Super Wild Card Weekend. The Ravens will have beaten the Bengals twice, but will still have a lower winning percentage because the Bengals will have played 16 games while the Ravens have played 17. To try to solve for that inequity, a coin flip would determine which team has home-field advantage.

In the event the Ravens win the coin toss and host the Bengals, Cincinnati would still be the No. 3 seed and the Ravens the No. 6 seed.

The Ravens only end up as the No. 6 seed in this scenario if the Chargers (10-6) also beat the Broncos in Week 18 (the Chargers would be the No. 5 seed). A Ravens win and a Chargers loss would move Baltimore up to the No. 5 seed.

NFL.com

 

Bengals WR Tee Higgins relieved to hear of Damar Hamlin's improving condition: 'He's doing good, so I'm in a good place now'

Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, who collided with Bills safety Damar Hamlin during Monday's game immediately prior to Hamlin suffering a cardiac arrest, said Thursday the support he's received from the Hamlin family and the improvement in Hamlin's status has helped him process the harrowing events from being involved in the play.

"Everybody's been making me feel whole again," Higgins said in his first public comments since the incident. "I talked to his mom. Everything's OK, he's doing good, so I'm in a good place right now."

On Thursday, doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center announced Hamlin has had "substantial improvement to his condition over the past 24 hours."

Higgins has received support from Hamlin's family, which made a point to publicly push back against negative sentiments directed toward Higgins in the hours and days following the game.

"Just telling me that she's thinking of me, praying for me and things like that," Higgins said of his conversation with Hamlin's mother, Nina. "She's telling me that he's OK. Just all the good, positive stuff."

With a little over six minutes remaining in the first quarter of Monday's Bills-Bengals game, Higgins caught a pass over the middle from Joe Burrow and raced upfield, running into Hamlin, who tackled him after a gain of 13 yards. Hamlin then collapsed to the ground, sending medical personnel rushing to his aid.

As the seriousness of Hamlin's condition became apparent, Higgins was forced to grapple with what had happened.


"You know at first, me being a football player, I think that he just flopped, one of our guys bumped him," Higgins said. "I looked, seen him fall. I looked again, I seen what happened, so I just turned my head, tried not to think about it. I knew it was something crazy, something tragic. Man, it was hard. Obviously, wasn't in a good place to play for the rest of that game, so I'm kinda glad that we chose not to play."

Higgins said the days since Monday night have "been hard," but he intends to play against the Ravens on Sunday.

"At the end of the day I'm here to do a job, and my teammates need me, and I need my teammates as well," Higgins said. "So I didn't want to let my teammates down. I know it's something big, but at the end of the day, I know I've got a job to do."

Many teammates, as well as fellow players around the league, have rallied around Higgins after the frightening events from Monday night. Bills quarterback Josh Allen made a point at the end of Thursday's news conference to offer support to Higgins, calling out the criticism that has been levied at the third-year receiver.

"I haven't reached out to Tee. I hope that he got some relief today," Allen said. "I saw some stuff on Twitter. People should not be attacking him whatsoever and I'm glad that Damar's family came out and said that and hopefully he found some relief today. Because again, that's a football play and I hope that he doesn't hold that upon himself, because I mean there's nothing else he could've done in that situation, so I just wanted to say that, too."

Said Burrow on Wednesday of his wide receiver: "He's doing well. He's pretty shaken up just like all of us. Like I've said, never seen anything like that. And unfortunate as it is, that's part of the game. Something that you hope never happens, but as we saw on Monday night can and will happen."

Within Thursday's announcement was a revelation that when Hamlin awoke, the first thing he asked was, "Did we win?" Doctors told Hamlin, "Yes, Damar. You won. You won the game of life."

"Actually, I had a smile on my face when I heard that, because that's probably something I would've asked as well," Higgins said. "'Who won the game?' But that's how you know that he was locked in and ready to ball out. But that's good, knowing that.


"He definitely won the game of life with that, because, man, that was crazy."

NFL.com

 

Bills speak publicly for first time since Damar Hamlin hospitalization, share relief at teammate's improved condition

Bills head coach Sean McDermott, quarterback Josh Allen, cornerback Dane Jackson and center Mitch Morse spoke publicly for the first time on Thursday since safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during Monday's game.

The four described a sense of relief and optimism upon hearing the news from earlier Thursday that Hamlin, who has been hospitalized at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center since Monday, has had substantial improvement in his condition.

"This press conference is about Damar Hamlin, whom we love," McDermott began, while thanking a number of people involved in Hamlin's care. "It's about his parents, Mario and Nina, and their extended family. We continue to pray for them during this time, and Damar is and remains our No. 1 concern. ... The amount of faith, hope and love that we saw on display over the last three days has been nothing short of amazing."

Allen described the emotional moments on Monday night and level of fear he and his teammates had after Hamlin collapsed onto the field and received CPR before being transported via ambulance to the UCMC.

"I don't typically like using emotion to answer questions, but the scene just replays over and over in your head," Allen said. "It's hard to answer that question and actually describe how I felt, how my teammates felt in that moment. It's something we'll never forget, but know that Damar is doing OK. Lot of things and stuff that he has to process and continue to go through to get back to himself. Again, we heard that news this morning, and there's nothing that could've been told to us to bring our day down. We're extremely happy for him and his family. We just want to love up on him. So, the next chance we get, I don't know when it's gonna be. If we get to see him anytime soon, it's gonna be awesome."

Like Bengals coach Zac Taylor did on Wednesday, Allen commended McDermott's leadership from Monday night.

"The way he handled it, he was the perfect man to handle that type of situation," Allen said. "I can't say enough about what he did, what he said to us in the locker room. Obviously just a dire circumstance that nobody's expecting, nobody's ready for. There's nothing you can train about. You can never put yourself in that situation until it happens. I want to thank our training staff for going out there not knowing what's going on, but going through a checklist, working as a single cell and saving his life."

Allen continued: "Being on that field. You lose sleep. You hurt for your brother. A lot of shared grief. But to the question before, getting updates -- and positive updates -- eases so much of that pain and tension that you feel. But coach handled it as perfect as anybody could."

Jackson, who has known Hamlin since they were kids and was his college teammate at Pittsburgh, said of his friend: "He's a fighter. A warrior. An encourager ... just thinking about him makes me smile.

The Bills held a walkthrough practice on Wednesday and a full session on Thursday. Morse said it was "therapeutic" to return to football activities, while acknowledging "emotions might be delayed. Emotions might be processed at different times, and that's OK."

The Bills are scheduled to host the New England Patriots on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, and both McDermott and Allen said they think the team is ready to play. Both cited Thursday's news of Hamlin's improvement, as well as a message from Hamlin's father, Mario Hamlin, who said Damar would want them to press forward.

"Damar's father spoke to the team and really his message was: The team needs to get back to focusing on the goals that they had set for themselves," McDermott said. "Damar would've wanted it that way. And I'm paraphrasing. And so, that includes our game against New England this week. And I think that has helped, and then again the news today, as Josh alluded to, was a big help to getting us back to focused on the game this weekend."

Allen was emphatic in his response.

"Mario talking to us as a team and the things that he kind of told us, and, really (he) didn't tell us, he demanded us," Allen said. "You can't not honor his request to go out there and charge forward to the best of our abilities. And, obviously, we'll be playing with, I guess less heavy hearts now. Knowing that today's news was a lot of tears of joy, I'll tell you that. But to know that that's what [Damar] wants. That's what his dad wants. I think guys are excited to get out there."


"We want to play for Three," Allen said.

NFL.com