The NFL could be forced to conduct games without fans in the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the league continues to manufacture contingency plans for the regular season, Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints spoke about the potential of playing games without fans.

In a conversation with Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports, Payton highlighted the prospects of playing games without a crowd:

“If you just said from a strategic standpoint, playing without the fans, who does that impact the most? It impacts the stadiums that are the loudest,” Payton said. “The Superdome, Seattle, Kansas City, Minnesota, wherever those stadiums are hardest to hear in, it kinda neutralizes the playing field.”

Without a doubt, the Saints have built a reputation of having one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL. When opposing quarterback play at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, it's extremely difficult for them to hear.

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As a result, you will typically see quarterbacks covering their earholes just so they can listen to the play call from the sideline. However, if games are held without fans, the Saints won't have that advantage in the upcoming season.

Similar to New Orleans, the same can be said for teams like the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs. Just last season, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl after having home-field advantage through the postseason.

With the regular season months away, it remains to be seen how games will be managed. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NFL has raised the idea of possibly playing games with no fans or limited crowds. If that is the case later this year, Payton believes it could drastically affect the teams with home-field advantages.