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I'll go one step further - I'm willing to bet that if CPR and the defibrillator hadn't been applied where everyone could see it they would have finished the game right then and there.

Here's hoping that Jarett Stidham has another Ken Stabler-esque performance in him.

Of all the bad ideas we've seen so far, that one is in the running for the worst. It punishes the two teams that were supposed to get a bye and it rewards two teams that have no business being in the playoffs in the first place.

That lines up almost exactly with what my GF said when I asked her why his lungs were an issue. It's also when I learned that real life CPR is nothing like TV CPR and that a defibrillator does not start your heart when it's not beating. Shows like ER and Grey's Anatomy have been lying to us all these years. But it's worth noting yet again that we're working off speculation that's based on past experience and that it may or may not apply to Damar Hamlin's situation.

It's probably too much to ask that this whole thing resolves itself on the field this weekend, but it sure would be nice.

Maybe, maybe not. It probably depends on what caused the cardiac arrest. If he had an underlying heart issue, then yeah, his career is most likely over. If it was the result of a fluke hit, he could come back. (See Chris Pronger) The lung issues he's having may have been a result of CPR. What we see on TV and in movies is not a realistic depiction of CPR. From what I understand, CPR is actually pretty rough. Having your ribs broken while receiving it is fairly common. Point being, it's only been three days and we don't know anything yet.

NFL offices right about now.

I saw that too and I came up with this idea. If week 18 doesn't solve the issues (hopefully it will), the NFL uses the randomizer to remove one game from the schedules of KC and Baltimore so that all the teams involved have played the same number of games. Then we go to playoff tiebreakers - head to head, common opponents, etc., and settle it that way. It's yet another bad idea in a sea of bad ideas, but it may be the one with the least bull-.

Kansas City vs. Las Vegas Tennessee vs. Jacksonville Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh Minnesota vs. Chicago NY Jets vs. Miami Tampa Bay vs. Atlanta Carolina vs. New Orleans Houston vs. Indianapolis Arizona vs. San Francisco Dallas vs. Washington LA Rams vs. Seattle NY Giants vs. Philadelphia LA Chargers vs. Denver Detroit vs. Green Bay Baltimore vs. Cincinnati New England vs. Buffalo

Guys, when I had my mild heart attack back in 2017, I was in critical condition until I had the heart cath done. While it was happening, I was in moderate pain (honestly, it was more like just being really uncomfortable), but I was also wide awake and fully aware of what was going on. I was talking and joking with the cardiologist (when I wasn't bitching about being taken off morphine) while we waited for the cath team to show up at Cleveland Clinic. All of that took place while I was in critical condition. Until the cath was successful, it was my status. The point I'm trying to make is don't get hung up on Damar Hamlin still being in critical condition. As I said earlier, it's likely that the very soonest his condition will be upgraded is tomorrow, but I wouldn't count on it. Cardiac events, even mild ones, are serious and you don't recover from one overnight. Especially one like he had. Be patient. He's in good hands.

They should know his status well before Sunday. My guess is the Bills and Bengals won't be fully ready to play for quite a while.

Let me preface this by saying that the following is based on my GF's experience with cardiac events as an RN. She's basing her opinion on that alone. She does not know the particulars of Damar Hamiln's case. This is what she had to say when I asked her about it earlier today. They'll probably keep him sedated and in the induced coma for 24 hours. He'll more than likely be listed as critical for however long he's on the vent and in an induced coma. Possibly for a while longer after that. Critical condition doesn't necessarily mean he's on death's doorstep. She says the next move will likely be to start weaning him off the drugs to see how he reacts to the ventilator. They'll want to see if he starts "bucking the vent" which means breathing "over the ventilator settings." They'll also look to see if he shows any outward physical reaction (trying to remove it, spit it out, etc.) to being on the ventilator. This can be used to assess any possible brain damage. That step in the process usually takes place during the day so it will most likely start tomorrow morning. The reason for that is the hospital is more fully staffed during the day than at night. Based on that, there probably won't be any new information until tomorrow. Again, all of that is based on her cumulative experience with cardiac events and she's talking in broad generalities. Every case is different. She wants me to make it clear that she is not diagnosing anything or stating any information as fact. (If there's a lawyer in the house, I could a better worded disclaimer.)

That seems like the easiest solution.

NFL gonna NFL.

Short of moving everything back a week, I don't see a way out of this for the NFL. Anything else is the "this is the best bad idea we have" scene from Argo.

They'd figure out a way to tear down the sensor field.

Saw variations of this a lot on Twitter last night. Figured I'd share it here. It's not a bad idea.

We should take a minute to appreciate the stellar work the EMTs did tonight. They saved his life. Believe it or not, here in Ohio they don't get paid all that much to do the job they do. When I say not that much, I mean you could probably make more money working at Walmart. When my GF was an EMT back in the early 2000's, she was making about 7 bucks an hour. The money is why she left being an EMT to get her RN degree. It's absurd that these folks make as little money as they do.

So sorry to hear that. I hope everything is going to be OK.

That's what my GF said might have caused it. According to her, it's a million to one shot, but it can happen. This is exactly what my GF was trying to explain to me. All I got was "it takes perfect timing and it's rare." The rest was a lot of me trying to look like I understood. Not saying this is what happened, just pointing out that she said it was a possibility.

This appears to be heart related, but rest assured, we'll call you in right away if there are any CTE related developments.

That's what my GF said might have caused it. According to her, it's a million to one shot, but it can happen.

Critical condition does not necessarily mean "on death's door step." For example,Jeremy Renner is in the hospital in Nevada and he's in critical but stable condition. We'd all do well to stop speculating. Far as I know, none of us are medical professionals. We should wait for reliable information to come out.