NFL season at risk after COVID surge

No one really expected the NFL to make it through an entire season unscathed. The insidious nature of the coronavirus dictated that there would eventually be a crisis for a league trying desperately to play without a bubble.

Still, for a few weeks it looked like the NFL’s gamble would pay off. Teams were playing games, players were staying safe, and the biggest issue seemed to be how many fans should be allowed inside stadiums to watch.

Suddenly, that’s all changed. The Tennessee Titans have been decimated by the virus, Cam Newton has added a mask to his fashion accessories and players around the league are warily on the lookout for dangers that can’t be seen.

Now the NFL’s day of reckoning is coming. It’s not a stretch to say the remainder of the season hangs in the balance over the next few weeks.

A league accustomed to dominating any crisis in the past is finding out what those in the White House should already know: You can’t bully COVID-19.

“We’re fighting an uphill battle,’’ Buffalo coach Sean McDermott acknowledged while waiting for word on whether his team will go to Tennessee for a scheduled Sunday game. “I think we know that there’s a challenge because of how easily this thing spreads.’’

That challenge became evident when several Titans tested positive last week — and the positives kept coming. By yesterday the total was up to 22, including 11 players, and there seemed to be little chance Tennessee would be hosting the Bills on Sunday as scheduled.

The Patriots also cancelled practice in the wake of Newton’s positive test and another for Stephon Gilmore, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The Raiders also reported a positive test in Las Vegas.

And around the league yesterday, the talk was about health, not football. In Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes was asked to explain why he and Gilmore shared a bro hug after the Chiefs beat the Patriots.

“Obviously knowing that I went up to him after the game and gave him a high-five, like I have all my career and not thinking about it — it was a mental lapse,’’ Mahomes said.

Unfortunately, those kinds of lapses have been common in the first weeks of the season. Players have interacted with other teams, gone maskless to an event in Las Vegas, and not always followed the strict protocol put in place in hopes of getting the season in.

And even after being fined $100,000 for not wearing his mask on the sidelines, Raiders coach Jon Gruden kept taking it down again in Sunday’s loss at home to Buffalo.

The NFL is now threatening violators with everything it has left in the punishment bag — including suspensions and the loss of draft picks. But the cases are beginning to add up, and the logistics to keep playing the season are getting tougher.