The inconsistency in attendance policies is ‘ridiculous’

The list of coaches dissatisfied with the opposing attendance allowances is growing.

Less than a week after Vikings coach Mike Zimmer complained of a potential disadvantage for the visiting team amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Bills coach Sean McDermott said expressed similar dissatisfaction on Monday.

“I think it’s honestly ridiculous that there is, on the surface, what seems to be a playing field like that – inconsistently across the league with the various stadiums on the outside,” McDermott said, via Marcel Louis-Jacques from ESPN.

McDermott’s response was tied to Monday’s announcement that AFC East rival Miami will host a limited total capacity of 13,000 fans for the Dolphins’ first home game of Week 2, which is set to be played against – you guessed it – the Buffalo Bills.

NFL teams have taken a logical approach to whether they can invite fans to their stadiums in 2020 with a variety of results in production. Some teams, like the Raiders, won’t have any fans at all this season, which is of course disappointing for a team moving into a whole new stadium in a new market. Others, like the Lions and Broncos, have announced that fans will skip some of their first games, while leaving room for changes later in the season. The Dolphins are one of the lucky franchises that will welcome around 20% of their fans to their stadium for their first home game.

Zimmer and McDermott’s points aren’t entirely wrong, as 13,000 fans will have more impact than zero fans, even though that impact is far less than that of a typical local crowd. But in this unprecedented time, very little seems to be quite right. It’s likely McDermott won’t be the last coach to voice his opinion on this.