Searching for a way to resolve the AFC playoffs after Monday night’s Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game was canceled, NFL owners have approved a resolution that will alter the structure of the postseason.
NFL Owners Alter AFC Playoffs
Monday night’s game was canceled after Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest in the first quarter. Fortunately, Hamlin is recovering and spoke to his teammates on Friday via a video call.
Because that contest would have affected the AFC playoff standings and seedings, the NFL’s competition committee proposed several solutions to modify the postseason bracket. The resolution required approval from 24 of the league’s 32 owners. Twenty-five voted “yes,” three or four voted “no,” and the rest abstained, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.
The first change will affect the location of the AFC Championship Game. Because the Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals all had a chance at the AFC’s No. 1 seed heading into Monday night’s game, the league will change the site of the AFC title game in certain scenarios:
- Buffalo and Kansas City both win or both tie in Week 18 — a Buffalo vs. Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.
- Buffalo and Kansas City both lose, and Baltimore wins or ties in Week 18 — a Buffalo vs. Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.
- Buffalo and Kansas City both lose, and Cincinnati wins in Week 18 — a Buffalo or Cincinnati vs. Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.
The NFL is still working through potential venues for a neutral site AFC title game. Roger Goodell will ultimately make the final call. Outdoor stadiums are being considered, given that the Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals all play outdoors, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Additionally, the location of a potential Bengals-Ravens Wild Card game could be changed. If Baltimore beats Cincinnati in Week 18, they will have defeated the Bengals twice. Yet, Cincinnati would still have a higher winning percentage because they will have played only 16 games.
If the Ravens beat the Bengals on Sunday, and the Chargers beat the Broncos, Cincinnati and Baltimore would face off as the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds. In that case, a coin flip will determine the location of that Wild Card contest.
Breaking Down the AFC Playoff Changes
With these changes approved, Kansas City can still earn a first-round bye by defeating the Raiders on Saturday. If the Chiefs win and the Bills lose against the Patriots in Week 18, any AFC title game that involves the Chiefs will be played in Kansas City.
In terms of grabbing the No. 1 seed, the Bills controlled their own destiny heading into Week 17. Had they beaten the Bengals on Monday night and New England in Week 18, Buffalo would have earned home-field advantage and a first-round bye. Now, they’ll need a Chiefs loss on Saturday to have any hope of attaining those advantages.
Meanwhile, the Bengals also had a chance at the AFC’s top seed heading into Week 17. If they had beaten the Bills and Ravens to close out the season, Cincinnati would have needed a Chiefs loss in Week 18 to earn the No. 1 seed. Now, they have no shot at claiming the first-round bye.
The Bengals Aren’t Pleased With the Changes
The Bengals aren’t happy with the new AFC playoff format, and they have a legitimate right to be displeased.
If Cincinnati loses to Baltimore on Sunday, the Ravens will be a half-game behind the Bengals in the AFC North. Yet, the location of a potential Ravens-Bengals Wild Card game will be decided by a coin flip because the teams will have played unequal games.
Meanwhile, there’s also a scenario where the Bengals finish a half-game behind the Chiefs in the AFC standings and then face Kansas City in the Divisional Round. It’s an identical situation to Ravens-Bengals, but that potential game would be played in Kansas City — no coin flip.
Additionally, there won’t be a coin flip if the Bengals face the Bills in the Divisional Round. Cincinnati controlled its destiny as the No. 2 seed in the AFC before Monday night. Had they won out, the Bengals would have been the second seed ahead of the Bills.
The Bengals attempted to convince NFL owners not to ratify the proposal, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. Cincinnati executive Katie Blackburn is on the NFL’s competition committee and submitted a memo arguing that the league should follow the rules already in place, including that winning percentages determine seeding and home-field advantage in the case of a canceled game.
“The proper process for making rule change (sic) is in the off-season,” Blackburn wrote, per ESPN. “It is not appropriate to put teams in a position to vote for something that may introduce bias, favor one team over another or impact their own situation when the vote takes place immediately before the playoffs.”
Speaking to the media on Friday, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor also argued that the changes were unfair to his squad.
“Opportunities lost for us that we had a chance to control that now we don’t,” Taylor said. “Fine. But it seems like there are positives for a lot of teams and just negatives for us. So, we have the opportunity to play for a coin flip that can only negatively impact us.”