Before moving to the offseason, kudos to the NFL and NFLPA for achieving their stated goal of completing the season. As readers of this space know, I repeatedly asked, as the virus raged with no vaccine in sight: “Are they really doing this?” And they were, staging games lacking NFL-ready receivers (Browns), NFL-ready quarterbacks (Broncos) and even playing a game with 23 players on the Covid list (Ravens). But they made it through.
The NFL was not going to shut down a $15 billion business; they were going to mitigate the COVID risk the best they could, and they did an admirable job. Yet my overriding concern remains: players developing long-term complications. I truly hope that none of the players who contracted the virus have lasting respiratory or other issues; that would put a lasting stain on the decision to “play through” COVID in 2020.
Now, to the NFL’s pinnacle game, the last one we will see for six months…
