Says Tomlin's analysis of match-up convinced him that his team would lose.Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis shocked fans across the NFL today when he announced that his team would forfeit this Sunday's game against Pittsburgh. The announcement came after an intense, three hour meeting that occurred at the request of Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
A visibly stunned Lewis announced the decision to his team this morning. "After meeting with Coach Tomlin, I found his case for a Pittsburgh victory compelling. Frankly, I couldn't argue with it, and I agreed with Mike that it was in the best interest of both teams that we take the loss that is going to come to us anyway. It was simply not worth risking injuries to either teams' players. The Bengals are a proud organization. But right now, we should just accept the inevitable defeat that Coach Tomlin outlined in his extensive presentation, including the accompanying graphs."
Forfeits are a rarity in modern football. Tomlin's success in securing a victory without actually taking the field may start a new trend. However,Tomlin told fans to hold onto their tickets. At least, for the time being.
"We still expect to play quite a few games this season, if my coaching staff determines we are facing an equally matched opponent," the victorious Tomlin said. "I just feel that if we sit down with our lesser adversaries and reason with them, we can rest our players for the competition to come from the top tier teams in our schedule."
