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NFL approves NEUTRAL site for potential Bills-Chiefs AFC title game and will flip a coin to decide home field in potential Bengals-Ravens wild card after MNF was canceled following Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest
- The NFL on Friday passed several resolutions for the upcoming AFC playoffs.
- A potential Bills-Chiefs AFC title game would move to a neutral field
- A coin toss would determine the home field for a possible Bengals-Ravens wild card
- The decisions stem from the NFL’s decision to cancel Monday’s Bills-Bengals game.
- The MNF game was postponed due to Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest.
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The NFL passed a resolution Friday to move a potential Bills-Kansas City Chiefs AFC championship game to a neutral site after the league’s decision to cancel Monday’s Buffalo-Cincinnati Bengals game threw the heads of the NFL into chaos. playoff series.
Now, if the 12-3 Bills and 13-3 Chiefs advance to the AFC title game, they will meet at a neutral site, with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl.
The NFL also approved a proposed coin toss to determine home field advantage should the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens meet in a first-round playoff matchup. The two teams meet in the regular season finale on Sunday, and can avoid a draft if Cincinnati wins to clinch an AFC North division title.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) lies on the grass after making a tackle on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, blocked from view, while Buffalo Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49 ), assists at the end of the play during the first half of an NFL football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills
The problems stem from the NFL’s decision to cancel the remainder of Monday’s Bills-Bengals game, which was postponed after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field and required resuscitation. Hamlin remains in intensive care at a Cincinnati hospital, where he recently had his breathing tube removed and even had a FaceTime call with his teammates on Friday.
The MNF matchup had significant playoff implications for both the 12-3 Bills and 11-4 Bengals.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor has already expressed his dismay at the NFL’s proposed coin toss.
“It’s black and white, it’s in the rule book,” Taylor told reporters Friday as NFL owners met to discuss proposed adjustments to this year’s playoff format.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor has already expressed his dismay at the NFL’s proposed coin toss. “It’s black and white, it’s in the rule book,” Taylor told reporters Friday as NFL owners met to discuss proposed adjustments to this year’s playoff format.
The running back criticized the NFL for not following its own policy regarding canceled games.
Joe Mixon criticized the AFC playoff scenarios put out by the league earlier this week.
Under normal circumstances, home field advantage is determined by winning percentage.
“So we don’t play by the rules anymore,” Bengals running back Joe Mixon tweeted.
The situation can be avoided entirely if the Bengals beat the Ravens 10-6 on Sunday, a strong possibility considering Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson remains out with a knee injury.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the complications facing the league in a statement Thursday.
“In considering the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption to the league and minimize competitive inequalities,” Goodell said. ‘I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equity issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game in these extraordinary circumstances.”
The NFL passed resolutions Monday to determine home field advantage in several potential playoff matchups.