With Patrick Mahomes’ status for Sunday still in question, FOX Sports Radio host Colin Cowherd came up with an idea to help assure the NFL’s most important games will feature its most important players.
Every football fan wants to see star quarterbacks play. Elite quarterbacks make the best headlines and usually, the best chance for competitive games with late drama. Similarly, every football fan outside of Buffalo hopes Mahomes is healthy enough to play in the AFC Championship Game. But if he’s not, Cowherd says the NFL should just postpone the game.
“We want Mahomes against Josh Allen, right?” Cowherd said during his radio show. “That’s reasonable. And I’m sitting here this morning thinking if I’m the NFL, Patrick Mahomes is going through protocol. I find the day Patrick Mahomes can play — that’s when we play. Why not?”
A matchup between Chad Henne and Josh Allen is far less appealing than a game featuring Mahomes. Just like a matchup between backup quarterbacks Jordan Love and Blaine Gabbert would be a major disappointment for fans expecting to see Aaron Rodgers vs Tom Brady. It’s one of the reasons why strict rules protecting quarterbacks are important. But postponing games to ensure the quarterback is healthy? That’s next level thinking from Cowherd.
It’s not totally crazy, similar examples of Cowherd’s point happen in other entertainment industries. If the lead singer of a band is sick, their concert tour is put on hold or rescheduled. If the quarterback is the lead singer and the rest of the team is the band, then why not postpone the event when the front man is unavailable?
While it might not be without merit because you can analogize similar examples, Cowherd’s overall idea is unrealistic. What happens if the quarterback isn’t the team’s best player? What about quarterbacks who were injured earlier in the season? As a general rule, the better the quarterback, the better the game. The NFL will always do what they can to put their best product on the field, but postponing a game so Patrick Mahomes can heal is a stretch.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
