For conference championship week, COVID disappears

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For the rest of the world, COVID persists. For the NFL, it’s gone away.

With four teams left, not a single person tested positive for COVID this week. The only COVID-related transaction happened on Friday, when Bengals linebacker Joe Bachie exited the COVID reserve list. He remains on injured reserve.

That’s it. No one was placed on COVID reserve. While, in theory, it could still happen between now and Sunday afternoon, a positive test hinges on players, coaches, and/or staff self-reporting symptoms — or having symptoms sufficiently severe that others notice them.

Late in the regular season, some players were volunteering that they were experiencing symptoms. Now, who in their right mind would tap out of the game that has them on the brink of a Super Bowl?

With no regular testing of vaccinated or unvaccinated players, coaches, and staff, the chances of anyone missing either of Sunday’s games or the game to be played two Sundays later are very slim.

It’s good for football, and it’s likely an indication that, come 2022, the NFL will follow the same approach. Don’t ask, don’t tell, keep going.

Don’t mistake this for passing judgment. It’s just stating facts. There are plenty of other facts regarding the pandemic that plenty of people don’t want to hear. It doesn’t make them anything other than cold, hard facts.