The Washington Football Team (WFT) on Wednesday placed another eight players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. So far, the team has 18 players on the list, and 14 of them were added this week.

Five of WFT's six active linemen are on the COVID-19 list, which will hurt the team's biggest weapon, defense, painfully. Moreover, they have another 13 on the injury list, which makes their prospect against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday look dark. With a record of 6-7, the team, which ranks second in the National Football Conference (NFC) East, cannot afford to lose to the Eagles (6-7, NFC East) if they want playoff qualification.

"We're in meetings, and one of the guys told me someone else had it. It's like, 'Here's another one; there's another one," WTF's guard Brandon Scherff said. "Like coach Rivera said, 'Next man up.' It's a big opportunity for them to show everyone what they've got."

The team's head coach, Ron Rivera said he already received the booster shot. 

"Nobody expected this [Omicron] variant," he said. "Because it's spreading so quickly around the league right now, that almost feels like a matter of time. I don't think anybody expected it to be like this. Our thought might be that guys that hadn't gotten vaccinated might have come down with it at some point or another, not that it would be a crossover."

The WTF are not the only team struggling against the coronavirus. The league witnessed over 75 new cases this week, even before Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Rams announced on Tuesday that nine of their players were added to the COVID-19 list. One of them was star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. He completed six catches for 77 yards and one touchdown in the team's 30-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals on December 13.

"We're in intensive protocols," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "This has definitely been the most uniquely challenging situation we've dealt with, with COVID over the last two years, no doubt about it, specific to our team the amount of people that are affected, both players and staff."

The Cleveland Browns also added eight players to the list on Tuesday. One of them was five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry. The team defeated the Baltimore Ravens 24-22 at home on December 12 and was No. 2 in the American Football Conference (AFC) North with a record of 7-6, the same as the Cincinnati Bengals behind.

"It's, obviously, an unfortunate situation," Browns guard Joel Bitonio said. "You want to see your guys on the field. But we have been through it. We had multiple weeks last year where we couldn't fully practice. We lost some players, including the playoff game, so we do have experience with it."

The latest coronavirus outbreak in the NFL already has teams up against the wall, and they still have to play in some of the fiercest competitions in decades. It has been 14 weeks since the 2021 NFL season began, but not a single team has secured playoff qualification. It's only the third time that a situation like this has happened in 44 years.

For example, the Cardinals could have booked a spot in the postseason if they had defeated the Rams on December 13. Unfortunately, they lost and fell to No. 3 in the NFC. The Titans are currently 9-4 and rank second in the AFC, but the four games they lost were all against the teams that missed the playoffs last season. Two of them were the New York Jets and Houston Texans, which have already said goodbye to the playoffs this season.

Moreover, the New England Patriots, which only began rebuilding last season, surprised the league with a 9-4 record and led the AFC East. They are already seen as a hot candidate for the Super Bowl LVI title and the reigning champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers.

This is the first 17-game regular season for the NFL, and things couldn't be more unclear.