THE VIRUS EARNS A SPOT IN THE NFL PLAYOFFS
By STEVE KING
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The worst nightmare at the worst possible time — so much so that it’s almost criminal.
That’s all you can say about the news Tuesday morning that Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, who is probably going to win AFC Coach of the Year honors, along with Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio and wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge, among others, have posted positive for COVID-19. Add them to the list of Browns coaches and players who had already been shelved because of coronavirus protocols or injuries. and you have a recipe for disaster.
Yikes!
And, get this, it may well get worse before it gets better, since there is plenty of time left for more nightmares for the Browns before they play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night at Heinz Field in the opening round of the AFC playoffs.
As such, then, a game that everybody in the football world — not just in Cleveland and Pittsburgh — was anticipating following the teams’ down-to-the-wire affair at FirstEnergy Stadium last Sunday and the longtime bitter rivalry between the franchises, has been turned into almost a comical farce — a no-contest, if you will.
It is not just the Browns’ worst nightmare but rather also that of top NFL executives, who, if the truth be told, have long worried this season about this very scenario, the integrity of a postseason game — and with it the integrity of the league — being sullied by COVID-19.
Now, every playoff team is holding its breath, hoping that one or several of its players or coaches — possibly even top players and coaches — get the virus and will have to sit out games.
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What, heaven forbid, if Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the top player in football, tests positive?
Or Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson?
Or Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, leveling the playing field some for Sunday’s game?
Or Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, this year’s top candidate for the Most Valuable Player Award?
Or Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson?
Or Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady?
Or Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin?
Or Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh?
Or Seattle head coach Pete Carroll?
Or so on or so forth?
It’s like going to a movie and seeing stars missing, their roles handled by extras.
Or going to the best restaurant in town and having your meals prepared by substitutes because the top chefs are missing.
We don’t want B-listers on the big stage. We want the big names there.
Unfortunately, at least for the Browns, that will hardly be the case./
And it’s a real shame, especially after how hard this team worked to get here, and the euphoria that was still being felt when everything went south Tuesday morning.
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