NFL (2024 Season)

[Max Rockatansky]

Has anyone heard the latest?  Did they find the cause?

24 year old people don't just go into cardiac arrest.

So far, no new news, just a lot of speculation.

I mean, this kind of thing can in fact happen to people who in shape and otherwise healthy.  As an example I went into arterial fibrillation after a 13.5 mile run during 2015.  I got back from the run, took my dog for a short walk and suddenly couldn't move.  Never had anything like that happen before or since, I've been a distance runner for 22 years. 

What happened here is incredibly out of nowhere, but it can happen even to even professional athletes.

[davewiecking]

Has anyone heard the latest?  Did they find the cause?

24 year old people don't just go into cardiac arrest.

Read about commotio cordis. Sudden cardiac arrest due to a severe blow to the chest at just the wrong time in the heart's electrical cycle. I seem to recall an MLB umpire going into cardiac arrest after being hit in the chest with a fastball several years ago.

[tchafe1978]

It's most likely due to the hit to the chest he took while tackling Tee Higgins. Look up commodio cordis. Basically you get hit at just the right part of the chest at just the right time during the heart's electrical impulses and the hit disrupts those impulses causing cardiac arrest. It hasn't been officially released as that yet but based on other things I've heard and read that's what it likely is.

But one of the most disgusting things about this and many other times someone who is otherwise healthy has sudden like this happen is the ones who start coming out of the woodwork with the conspiracies, like trying to blame it on the COVID vaccine. It's like have some respect, people, not everything is a damn conspiracy, or reason for you to start saying "see! I told you the vaccine was dangerous!"

[hobsini2]

Has anyone heard the latest?  Did they find the cause?

24 year old people don't just go into cardiac arrest.

ESPN and 670 The Score in Chicago this morning were both saying that it was commodio cordis. It is an interruption of the heart cycle by a blunt force trauma to the chest cavity over the heart. It is highly rare because the condition happens for a millisecond. In other words, wrong place at the wrong time can cause cardiac arrest.

[roadman65]

It's most likely due to the hit to the chest he took while tackling Tee Higgins. Look up commodio cordis. Basically you get hit at just the right part of the chest at just the right time during the heart's electrical impulses and the hit disrupts those impulses causing cardiac arrest. It hasn't been officially released as that yet but based on other things I've heard and read that's what it likely is.

But one of the most disgusting things about this and many other times someone who is otherwise healthy has sudden like this happen is the ones who start coming out of the woodwork with the conspiracies, like trying to blame it on the COVID vaccine. It's like have some respect, people, not everything is a damn conspiracy, or reason for you to start saying "see! I told you the vaccine was dangerous!"

Anything Covid is conspiracy whether anti or pro. The same with Bob Saget I’ve heard both speculations of it being the Covid itself to its vaccine until the ME ruled.

Let’s hope we keep politics out of this one as people come up wacky theories. So far it’s been concern for Hamlin and let’s keep it that way.

[JayhawkCO]

But one of the most disgusting things about this and many other times someone who is otherwise healthy has sudden like this happen is the ones who start coming out of the woodwork with the conspiracies, like trying to blame it on the COVID vaccine. It's like have some respect, people, not everything is a damn conspiracy, or reason for you to start saying "see! I told you the vaccine was dangerous!"

I have lost all respect for, formerly one of my favorite basketball players, John Stockton, who pushes this crap.

[jmacswimmer]

Whoever originally told the teams that they were going to restart the game in 5 minutes should be castrated with a broken beer bottle.

And hats off to Sean McDermott & Zac Taylor for taking matters into their own hands and, after briefly discussing, sending their teams back to the locker room and more-or-less deciding the postponement themselves. Great leadership by both to stand up to the league & advocate for their players, who they knew couldn't possibly be expected to continue playing as if nothing happened.

[roadman65]

Whoever originally told the teams that they were going to restart the game in 5 minutes should be castrated with a broken beer bottle.

And hats off to Sean McDermott & Zac Taylor for taking matters into their own hands and, after briefly discussing, sending their teams back to the locker room and more-or-less deciding the postponement themselves. Great leadership by both to stand up to the league & advocate for their players, who they knew couldn't possibly be expected to continue playing as if nothing happened.

Considering that football isn’t like baseball that calls off games due to inclement weather, it’s nice that they postponed this match up.  As the game can be played at any moment in time, Hamlin health only has now to be dealt with.

[thspfc]

As the game can be played at any moment in time

Not really. The latest the game could be played without it causing major schedule conflicts would probably be Thursday. Any later than today (no way it's being played today), and they're probably going to have to push back Ravens/Bengals and Patriots/Bills to at least Monday. If they can't get the game in this week, things get really sticky. I can't imagine that cancellation is an option, and changing the date of the Super Bowl isn't either.

[triplemultiplex]

Whoever originally told the teams that they were going to restart the game in 5 minutes should be castrated with a broken beer bottle.

And hats off to Sean McDermott & Zac Taylor for taking matters into their own hands and, after briefly discussing, sending their teams back to the locker room and more-or-less deciding the postponement themselves. Great leadership by both to stand up to the league & advocate for their players, who they knew couldn't possibly be expected to continue playing as if nothing happened.

Well official statements from the NFL indicate that 5 minute thing was never actually under consideration.  That's just something people were assuming because that's standard procedure for the league after a really bad injury; like a 'normal' really bad injury, not something like this.  Possibly chalk that 5 minute thing to speculation in a vacuum of information.

[roadman65]

As the game can be played at any moment in time

Not really. The latest the game could be played without it causing major schedule conflicts would probably be Thursday. Any later than today (no way it's being played today), and they're probably going to have to push back Ravens/Bengals and Patriots/Bills to at least Monday. If they can't get the game in this week, things get really sticky. I can't imagine that cancellation is an option, and changing the date of the Super Bowl isn't either.

I meant it figuratively. Of course they're facing a clock, but compared to a person's life it's playing at other moments verses doing it now to save a man's life.

[Big John]

and changing the date of the Super Bowl isn't either.

They would first cancel the bye week between the championship game and the Super Bowl.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Has anyone heard the latest?  Did they find the cause?

24 year old people don't just go into cardiac arrest.

It was most likely commotio cordis caused by the impact he took to his chest before he collapsed. He would have had a couple of seconds of consciousness after he went into arrest before losing blood flow to his brain, which explains why he was able to get up.

A similar thing happened to former NHL player Chris Pronger, who went into cardiac arrest after taking a slap shot to the chest during a 1998 Stanley Cup playoff game. He survived and actually played in the very next game. He retired in 2011.

https://twitter.com/chrispronger/status/1610282040544432130

[jmacswimmer]

Whoever originally told the teams that they were going to restart the game in 5 minutes should be castrated with a broken beer bottle.

And hats off to Sean McDermott & Zac Taylor for taking matters into their own hands and, after briefly discussing, sending their teams back to the locker room and more-or-less deciding the postponement themselves. Great leadership by both to stand up to the league & advocate for their players, who they knew couldn't possibly be expected to continue playing as if nothing happened.

Well official statements from the NFL indicate that 5 minute thing was never actually under consideration.  That's just something people were assuming because that's standard procedure for the league after a really bad injury; like a 'normal' really bad injury, not something like this.  Possibly chalk that 5 minute thing to speculation in a vacuum of information.

I did see that statement issued afterward, but where it still seems murky is that it wasn't just social-media speculation - Joe Buck said it on-air several times during McDermott & Taylor's initial discussion as well as while they were on phone calls after taking their teams back to the locker room.  Regardless of one's opinion of Buck as an announcer, I don't think he'd say that out-of-turn.

Meanwhile, the latest from the NFL is that the game will not be resumed this week - no decisions yet regarding eventual makeup (if at all), and no adjustments to week 18 for the moment.

[ilpt4u]

One W18 game still has yet to be assigned a Kickoff time: Ravens/Bengals

It was initially given Conditional KO times dependent on MNF's result

Before it can be fully assigned, a decision kinda needs to be made IF Bills/Bengals will be made up.

If "Yes"  keep it at 4:25, as Ravens/Bengals still has AFCN implications
If "No"  needs to be at 1, as the Bills and Bengals need to play at the same time, since they could finish with the same record and both in contention for the #2 seed (with no makeup game, Bengals already are AFCN Champs)

[gonealookin]

One W18 game still has yet to be assigned a Kickoff time: Ravens/Bengals

It was initially given Conditional KO times dependent on MNF's result

Before it can be fully assigned, a decision kinda needs to be made IF Bills/Bengals will be made up.

If "Yes"  keep it at 4:25, as Ravens/Bengals still has AFCN implications
If "No"  needs to be at 1, as the Bills and Bengals need to play at the same time, since they could finish with the same record and both in contention for the #2 seed (with no makeup game, Bengals already are AFCN Champs)

I wouldn't agree that "with no makeup game, Bengals are already AFCN Champs".  The Ravens already beat the Bengals once this season.  If the Ravens win Sunday's game, they would be 11-6 and Cincinnati would be 11-5.  A half-game difference there and I would award Baltimore the division championship on the basis of the season sweep of Cincinnati.

If both Buffalo and Cincinnati win on Sunday, the Bills would be 13-3 and Cincinnati 12-4 and both division champs.  If KC wins on Saturday the Chiefs clinch the #1 seed so Buffalo and Cincinnati would be #2/#3.  Despite the one-game difference I would use some tiebreaker formula or maybe even a coin flip to decide which one is 2 and which is 3.

[ilpt4u]

One W18 game still has yet to be assigned a Kickoff time: Ravens/Bengals

It was initially given Conditional KO times dependent on MNF's result

Before it can be fully assigned, a decision kinda needs to be made IF Bills/Bengals will be made up.

If "Yes"  keep it at 4:25, as Ravens/Bengals still has AFCN implications
If "No"  needs to be at 1, as the Bills and Bengals need to play at the same time, since they could finish with the same record and both in contention for the #2 seed (with no makeup game, Bengals already are AFCN Champs)

I wouldn't agree that "with no makeup game, Bengals are already AFCN Champs".  The Ravens already beat the Bengals once this season.  If the Ravens win Sunday's game, they would be 11-6 and Cincinnati would be 11-5.  A half-game difference there and I would award Baltimore the division championship on the basis of the season sweep of Cincinnati.

If both Buffalo and Cincinnati win on Sunday, the Bills would be 13-3 and Cincinnati 12-4 and both division champs.  If KC wins on Saturday the Chiefs clinch the #1 seed so Buffalo and Cincinnati would be #2/#3.  Despite the one-game difference I would use some tiebreaker formula or maybe even a coin flip to decide which one is 2 and which is 3.

If Ravens were to beat the Bengals AND Bills/Ravens is not made up, Ravens finish 11-6 and Bengals finish 11-5. Bengals have a better Winning% and thus the AFCN crown. Same number of wins with less losses = better Win%. H2H is not of consequence then, as Win% is not equal

If Bengals beat the Ravens AND Patriots defeat the Bills AND the Chiefs beat the Raiders Saturday, and Bills/Bengals is not made up, both finish 12-4. H2H will obviously not apply. Strength of Victory tie breaker gives the Bengals the 2 seed.

Hence why both Bengals and Bills need to play at the same time with no makeup game

With a makeup, Bills and Bengals cannot tie and will have a H2H result, and the Ravens are still in play for the AFCN

[gonealookin]

If Ravens were to beat the Bengals AND Bills/Ravens is not made up, Ravens finish 11-6 and Bengals finish 11-5. Bengals have a better Winning% and thus the AFCN crown. Same number of wins with less losses = better Win%. H2H is not of consequence then, as Win% is not equal

I understand your point, and if winning percentage is used as the absolute determinant then yes, Cincinnati has clinched the division.  My counter argument is that the Bengals playing one fewer game than the Ravens compromises the validity of winning percentage; basically they "missed an opportunity to lose a sixth game".  If the Ravens win Sunday, I think it's more fair to Baltimore to say that with both teams having 11 wins, you call that a tie, and Baltimore having beaten Cincinnati in both of their H2H, then H2H should be the tiebreaker and Baltimore should be awarded the division championship notwithstanding their additional loss to somebody else.

[ilpt4u]

If Ravens were to beat the Bengals AND Bills/Ravens is not made up, Ravens finish 11-6 and Bengals finish 11-5. Bengals have a better Winning% and thus the AFCN crown. Same number of wins with less losses = better Win%. H2H is not of consequence then, as Win% is not equal

I understand your point, and if winning percentage is used as the absolute determinant then yes, Cincinnati has clinched the division.  My counter argument is that the Bengals playing one fewer game than the Ravens compromises the validity of winning percentage; basically they "missed an opportunity to lose a sixth game".  If the Ravens win Sunday, I think it's more fair to Baltimore to say that with both teams having 11 wins, you call that a tie, and Baltimore having beaten Cincinnati in both of their H2H, then H2H should be the tiebreaker and Baltimore should be awarded the division championship notwithstanding their additional loss to somebody else.

The League"˜s primary concern is the Health and Safety of its Players, and right now that concern is rightfully centered on Bills Safety Damar Hamlin

That said, the League has to be making contingencies. What all they entail, who knows. All we know, for now, is W18 is to be played as currently scheduled

If the game is to be made up, the only (somewhat sensible) time to do it would be to push the Playoffs back a week, eliminate the week off between Championship Sunday and Super Sunday, and make Bills/Bengals a Saturday/14th or Sunday/15th "Week 19"  makeup game as Game 272. I don't think the NFL wants to do that unless they feel the need to, be it by the Owners, Competitive Balance, Sponsors, or other

I think the NFL will wait until W18 plays out before announcing that decision

[webny99]

In light of the scary incident last night, it feels rather trivial to theorize about what might happen with making up the game, but it is worth noting that a forfeit or "tie" scenario would not only allow the Bengals to clinch the AFC North, it would also make the Chiefs heavy favorites to take the #1 seed and a first-round playoff bye, which would be unfortunate for the Bills since they had control of the #1 seed entering last night and probably need the bye more than anyone right now. In this scenario, they would need a win vs. the Patriots and a Chiefs loss to the Raiders to get the #1 seed.

There's also a remote possibility that the unfinished game gets assigned as a Win/Loss, although that's unlikely since only about 9 minutes of the game were played - much too early to put any real stock in the score, although the Bengals did have a 7-3 lead after the Bills settled for a FG on the drive before the injury... but again, that seems pretty meaningless now and all that really matters is Damar Hamlin's health and safety.

[thspfc]

They've announced that the game will not be finished this week, meaning the next game these two teams play will be their week 18 matchups (unless those are impacted as well, which would be a whole new can of worms that I'm sure the league would refuse to open). The entirety of the playoffs being pushed back a week isn't that crazy of an undertaking in terms of logistics, as the playoff matchups are only known a week in advance anyway - in fact, for the playoff teams whose status will not be affected by the Bills/Bengals game (the entire NFC), it will be an extra week to prepare, both for the teams and for the logistics. But the Super Bowl can't be changed, so the Pro Bowl weekend would then come after the Super Bowl.


Imagine taking a break from technology for the last 24 hours, and then stumbling in on this discussion. Crazy stuff, but these are changes that need to be made considering the situation.

[NWI_Irish96]

They've announced that the game will not be finished this week, meaning the next game these two teams play will be their week 18 matchups (unless those are impacted as well, which would be a whole new can of worms that I'm sure the league would refuse to open). The entirety of the playoffs being pushed back a week isn't that crazy of an undertaking in terms of logistics, as the playoff matchups are only known a week in advance anyway - in fact, for the playoff teams whose status will not be affected by the Bills/Bengals game (the entire NFC), it will be an extra week to prepare, both for the teams and for the logistics. But the Super Bowl can't be changed, so the Pro Bowl weekend would then come after the Super Bowl.


Imagine taking a break from technology for the last 24 hours, and then stumbling in on this discussion. Crazy stuff, but these are changes that need to be made considering the situation.

They could get creative and go ahead with the NFC WC round as scheduled but play BUF/CIN on that weekend, pushing the AFC playoffs back a week. Give the NFC their extra week off between the divisional and champ. rounds so the Super Bowl participants are both on equal rest.

1/14-15: NFC WC, BUF/CIN
1/21-22: NFC Div, AFC WC
1/28-29: AFC Div
2/5: AFC & NFC Champ
2/12: Super Bowl

[hobsini2]

They've announced that the game will not be finished this week, meaning the next game these two teams play will be their week 18 matchups (unless those are impacted as well, which would be a whole new can of worms that I'm sure the league would refuse to open). The entirety of the playoffs being pushed back a week isn't that crazy of an undertaking in terms of logistics, as the playoff matchups are only known a week in advance anyway - in fact, for the playoff teams whose status will not be affected by the Bills/Bengals game (the entire NFC), it will be an extra week to prepare, both for the teams and for the logistics. But the Super Bowl can't be changed, so the Pro Bowl weekend would then come after the Super Bowl.


Imagine taking a break from technology for the last 24 hours, and then stumbling in on this discussion. Crazy stuff, but these are changes that need to be made considering the situation.

They could get creative and go ahead with the NFC WC round as scheduled but play BUF/CIN on that weekend, pushing the AFC playoffs back a week. Give the NFC their extra week off between the divisional and champ. rounds so the Super Bowl participants are both on equal rest.

1/14-15: NFC WC, BUF/CIN
1/21-22: NFC Div, AFC WC
1/28-29: AFC Div
2/5: AFC & NFC Champ
2/12: Super Bowl

That actually does not sound unreasonable for how to make the game up.

[Henry]

Because of the Steelers victory over the Ravens, if the Bengals defeat the Bills on Monday Night Football, the Bengals win the AFC North.  If the Bengals and the Bills end with the same record at the end of the season (with a possible Bengals victory over Buffalo) the Bengals would be the 2 seed.  Even more far-fetched, if the Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals end up with the same record (say, 13-4), the Bengals would be the 1 seed.  Burrow and Company just need to first take care of business later tonight.

_______________________________________

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have come back from the dead and have positioned themselves in the driver's seat for the 7 seed in the NFC.  A win and they are in.

First off, I'm now regretting my bungled fork (pun intended) of Cincinnati; they look to be in even better shape for the playoffs than they were last season.

And second, I'll be rooting for the Vikings to beat the Packers in the season finale, in a rare instance of me cheering on another NFC North team. May as well do so, since the Bears are dead last...again.

The Vikings already played, well, kind of, the Packers yesterday. Are you cheering for them in a potential playoff matchup?

I'm hoping that the Lions beat the Packers, since that game may determine who gets the last playoff spot in the NFC. However, that also depends on the results of the Seahawks-Rams game, as Seattle will clinch by winning that game and the Packers losing. As long as Green Bay is out, I could live with it.

As for the Bills-Bengals game, it truly was a miracle that Hamlin survived a near-death experience on the field. It just goes to show how dangerous football really is, so prayers and well wishes go out to him, his family and the Bills. If I was the commissioner, I'd pause the season until a definitive result occurs with Hamlin, and maybe even have the Bengals win by forfeit, since they were leading at the time of the incident. But it was a good call to not let the game continue this week.

[webny99]

They could get creative and go ahead with the NFC WC round as scheduled but play BUF/CIN on that weekend, pushing the AFC playoffs back a week. Give the NFC their extra week off between the divisional and champ. rounds so the Super Bowl participants are both on equal rest.

1/14-15: NFC WC, BUF/CIN
1/21-22: NFC Div, AFC WC
1/28-29: AFC Div
2/5: AFC & NFC Champ
2/12: Super Bowl

That actually does not sound unreasonable for how to make the game up.

I agree, this could work. And if the Chiefs lose + Bills and Bengals win this weekend, Bills and Bengals would still be playing for a first round bye.

Another possibility is a slightly modified version with only the three AFC Wild Card games on 1/21-22 and all four divisional games on 1/28-29 (this would give the NFC #1 seed a double bye, but would provide a minimum of three games each weekend).