Report: NFL Discussing Bubble for Playoffs; Los Angeles, Dallas Among Options

The NFL is reportedly considering Dallas and Los Angeles as potential host cities if the league decides to hold at least a portion of the playoffs in a "bubble" because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lindsay Jones and Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic reported Monday the wild-card round could be played at home stadiums followed by moving to neutral sites for the divisional round and beyond. MLB is using the same format.

"Part of the discussion ... is that for playoffs they may be able to do a bubble-type system that would avoid having to reschedule or losing key players because [they are] COVID positive or had contact with COVID positive," a source told The Athletic. "It's a big undertaking if they do this."

Per Jones and Kaplan, the NFL is not discussing any plans that include moving the remainder of the regular season into a bubble, or 32 individual bubbles, despite the league's first widespread outbreak involving the Tennessee Titans over the past two weeks.

In addition, the league is trying to alter the schedule as much as possible without being forced to create a Week 18 for postponed games. That will become more difficult as teams finish their bye weeks and have no open dates left on their calendar.

"Overall, we're going to try to fit it within the 17-week season and try to preserve making any changes to the 18th week until we have to," a source told The Athletic.

It's also possible some teams don't play all 16 of their games if there's a COVID-19-related postponement and the contest doesn't have playoff implications, according to Jones and Kaplan.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in May when the schedule was released that the league would be "prepared to make adjustments as necessary."

"In preparing to play the season as scheduled, we will continue to make our decisions based on the latest medical and public health advice, in compliance with government regulations, and with the appropriate safety protocols to protect the health of our fans, players, club and league personnel, and our communities," Goodell said in a statement.

The NFL is set to conclude Week 5 on Tuesday night when the Titans host the Buffalo Bills at Nissan Stadium. It'll be Tennessee's first game since a Sept. 27 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Buffalo was set to open Week 6 on Thursday night against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. That contest was delayed until next Monday because of the scheduling changes.

For now, the regular season is still set to conclude Jan. 3 followed by the playoffs leading up to Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Feb. 7.