THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Meanwhile, Seahawks fans are Lions fans this week

The millions who follow football, and perhaps even more who don’t, are thinking about Damar Hamlin.

The Bills safety remains in a Cincinnati hospital, slowly recovering from a frightening event Monday night.

Hamlin’s heart had to be restarted twice after he made what seemed like a routine tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.

The NFL doesn’t seem sure exactly what to do about that game, which was postponed after Hamlin departed in an ambulance.

But the show must go on.

The rest of the league’s players must try to push nerves aside and get back to work this weekend.

Hamlin’s situation has muted the Seahawks’ complaints about how the schedule was fudged to put the Packers on Sunday night football.

Their objection was obvious: If Seattle wins that same afternoon, Detroit would be eliminated from playoff contention — and therefore be less motivated against Green Bay.

Frankly, I think that’s crazy.

The Lions will play hard, no matter the circumstances.

As for the schedule change …

Tragic situations like Hamlin’s notwithstanding, the league is a flourishing business, and that means the motive is always the same.

Money.

SURE, WE get the drama.

A win would be the Packers’ fifth straight, as they’ve risen from the dead at 4-8 — their usual rally from nowhere that Aaron Rodgers routinely predicts, and then …

The perpetually grumpy QB can scold the media for having claimed “the sky is falling.”

Four games back, when A-Rod looked mostly out of sync with his new crop of receivers (and the Green Bay hierarchy was being blasted for paying Rodgers so much money to stay that Devante Adams had to be turned loose), it felt like the Packers were just a mediocre team that had made a series of poor decisions.

Now, fast forward …

Despite a 9-8 record if they beat Lions, and the fact that they’ll be done playing at home, the Packers will be anointed as a dark horse to reach the Super Bowl.

That is the perceived magic of Aaron Rodgers — even if he isn’t exactly playing inspired football and Green Bay’s winning streak belongs more to its defense than to No. 12.

Nonetheless, the Packers would be feared, and we’d hear endless references to 2010, when Green Bay DID come from the bottom of a wild-card pit to win the Super Bowl.

On the other hand …

If the Packers get turned over this weekend, the Seahawks would inherit that seventh spot in the NFC shoot-out — if they can beat the crippled Rams at Lumen Field.

Neither the Seahawks nor Detroit would get an ounce of respect and, trust me, we wouldn’t hear a word about the Super Bowl prospects of either one.

No one cares to hear that Rodgers has been downright average this season, or that he trails Geno Smith in basically every measurable category.

LET’S SAY the Packers do a face-plant at Lambeau this week.

Don’t call it impossible, because they’ve lost at home to the Giants, Jets and Titans this season.

Those would be the same Jets who weren’t even competitive in a 23-6 loss to Seattle last weekend.

But IF the Packers lose, what can we expect from the Seahawks at this point?

Besides the need for a M*ASH unit?

We know that inside linebacker and leading tackler Jordyn Brooks tore up his knee in the Jets game and won’t be back until next season.

There have been so many injuries at the safety spots that Teez Tabor and Johnathan Abram have come from complete obscurity and various waiver wires to playing on critical downs.

On offense, Smith is running out of targets — with tight end Will Dissly and wideout Marquise Goodwin now gone for the year, and Tyler Lockett playing with a broken hand.

Geno threw a TD pass to Tyler Mabry last week, and Seahawks fans suddenly were scrambling to identify Mabry — a new tight end who was catching his first NFL pass.

STILL …

The defense held up against the Jets.

The Seahawks played tough.

It’s hard to overstate what an impact big Al Woods makes in the middle of that 3-4 defense, and having him back was huge in stopping the run.

The same goes for edge rusher Darrell Taylor, who got a surprisingly bad start to the year but suddenly has become a rocket disrupting plays.

The young corners have been solid all along.

Somehow, this combination of spare parts and key contributors has become a rugged unit.

And with the ball …

Smith makes you feel as though he can find a way to manufacture points.

Look, you are not going to find “Seahawks” and “Super Bowl” in the same sentence, which is fair enough, but …

Pete Carroll insists that his guys will not go out quietly.

I tend to believe him.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”