John Steigerwald: NFL soon will stand for National Forfeit League

Are you ready for the National Forfeit League?

How long can the league go without forcing a team to forfeit?

The Steelers already had their Oct. 4 game against Tennessee postponed and rescheduled for what was supposed to be their week off later this month.

There were lots of people calling for the Steelers to be awarded a win by forfeit because it was the Titans’ fault for allowing several players to test positive for covid-19.

Who didn’t see this coming? Other than the people responsible for making the NFL schedule, of course.

Did they really think they could play 256 regular-season games without a team being disqualified for having too many sick players?

The NFL had to announce eight schedule changes Sunday, including Tuesday Night Football this week between the Bills and Titans.

That, of course, is assuming the Titans don’t produce any more positive tests. They can’t miss another week unless the league comes up with a way to add an 18th week to the schedule.

And this is Week 5.

Twelve more weeks to go. Have you seen anything to make you believe covid-19 is going to disappear? It seems pretty obvious the NFL is going to have to create open weeks by shortening the schedule or not postpone games when a few players get sick.

The Patriots’ game in Kansas City last Sunday was postponed until Monday after their quarterback, Cam Newton, tested positive.

No need to bore you with the details of the eight games rescheduled Sunday, and there’s no reason to believe the games scheduled between now and Jan. 3 are going to be played as scheduled as long as the policy is to shut everything down when players and/or staff test positive.

Would it be risking mass death to suggest teams could just continue to play while the afflicted recover?

Have any players who tested positive died? Have any gone to the hospital? How’s Cam Newton? Did he get really sick? Did he have symptoms?

Whatever happened to next man up?

It’s either idiotic to postpone or cancel games because players contract a disease that is putting them in no danger or it’s idiotic to think games won’t eventually have to be forfeited between now and January as long as players testing positive continues to mean shutting a team’s operation down.

The Steelers already have used up their bye week for a rescheduled game. What happens if some of their players test positive some time between now and Week 17?

What happens if they stay covid-free and one of their future opponents has to shut down?

Moving the NFL season to a bubble has been discussed, but if that’s feasible, it would have been considered feasible three months ago.

Maybe the NFL could take the opportunity to show it’s time the world accepted the fact the virus is here and people are going to get sick, but, unless they’re over 70 and already afflicted with an underlying condition, they’re not going to die and life must go on.

That would seem to make a lot more sense than expecting to finish a season without forfeits turning the season into a joke.

So far, the league has been able to get in enough games to keep collecting its TV money, but if (when?) it reaches the point where covid-19 is playing a major role in deciding a championship, it will become obvious it’s all been a waste of time.