ORCHARD PARK, NY – JANUARY 03: Buffalo Bills fans attend a candlelight prayer vigil for player Damar Hamlin at Highmark Stadium on January 3, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle last night on Monday Night Football. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
The NFL is in a tricky position after the shocking incident stemming from Monday night’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
Reporter @AllbrightNFL says the #NFL is considering calling the #Bills vs #Bengals a “no contest” and then determining seeding via a “random number generator”. Audio clip below. pic.twitter.com/Y9q0IHCeRT
— Bills Stats & More (@Tickets_Buffalo) January 4, 2023
Damar Hamlin encountered a life-threatening injury during the first quarter of the game, forcing it to be postponed. And the league is now scrambling for a solution.
An update on Wednesday revealed all options are being considered. And, according to reporter Benjamin Albright, the league is mulling over calling it a no-contest. This would be sure to cause another set of problems with seeding, as you might imagine.
Reporter @AllbrightNFL says the #NFL is considering calling the #Bills vs #Bengals a “no contest” and then determining seeding via a “random number generator”. Audio clip below. pic.twitter.com/Y9q0IHCeRT
Random number generator would never fly. That would mean the 3 teams with best records could get low seed and 3 teams that barely made it get top seeds and 1 a possible tie. NFL fans would riot if they did this
Either make it a tie or play the game. Seedings based on record.
— smehaffie (@smehaffie) January 4, 2023
While the above is not the only option being considered, it’s probably the one that would anger most fans.
Another option would be to determine the seeding based on win percentage, as opposed to the win-loss record. But that would leave one particular fanbase enraged.