NFL owners ‘to meet Friday to discuss AFC Championship Game at a NEUTRAL site’
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NFL owners will meet Friday to discuss the league’s proposal to play the AFC Championship game at a neutral site as playoff seeding was affected following confirmation that the pivotal game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals will not resume.
The Week 17 game, which was to have an impact on the playoffs, was called off Monday night after Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field and went into cardiac arrest.
The Bills and the NFL community received a positive update Thursday when doctors revealed that the 24-year-old is now awake and has made “substantial improvement” but the league will not resume MNF play.
NFL owners to meet to discuss AFC seeding as Bills-Bengals game will not resume
Damar Hamlin is awake and showing signs of improvement after going into cardiac arrest and being revived during Monday’s Bills-Bengals game in Cincinnati.
The Bills-Bengals game had major playoff implications and the league has proposed playing the AFC Championship game on a neutral field to resolve the seeding issue.
Buffalo (12-3) entered Monday night needing a win to maintain the AFC’s No. 1 seed, while the Kansas City Chiefs (13-3) currently hold that spot.
The challenge of settling the AFC playoffs without the significant game has now been raised to the highest level in the sport.
NFL owners (Terry Pegula of the Bills on the left and Mike Brown of the Bengals on the right) will meet to discuss the plan
The Kansas City Chiefs (13-3) currently occupy the No. 1 seed in the AFC heading into Week 18
The NFL released a statement Thursday night outlining the proposal after the cancellation.
The NFL released a statement Thursday night proposing that if the teams participating in the AFC Championship game have played an unequal number of games and both could have been the No. 1 seed and host the game, then it will be played in a neutral ground.
NFL owners will meet Friday via video call to discuss the proposal.
All circumstances leading up to an AFC Championship game on neutral ground involve either Buffalo or Cincinnati qualifying for the game as the road team.
First, if Buffalo and Kansas City win or tie in week 18, then a championship game between Buffalo and Kansas City will be played at a neutral site.
If Buffalo and Kansas City lose and Baltimore wins or ties, then the championship game between the Bills and Chiefs would also head to neutral ground.
And finally, if both teams lose but the Bengals win, then a Cincinnati or Buffalo game against the Chiefs would have the same result.
Week 18 has no bearing on a potential Bills-Bengals AFC Championship Game, as it would still be in Buffalo.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said these three scenarios were the league’s best response to the disruption in the race for the AFC’s top seed and anything else affected.
“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 ask 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.”
He outlined the three scenarios that would lead up to the AFC Championship game on neutral ground.
Another complicating factor is the outcome of the Bengals’ game against the Ravens on Sunday.
If Baltimore beats Cincinnati this weekend, then it will have beaten its divisional opponent twice, but it won’t be able to host a playoff game, as the Bengals will have a higher winning percentage in 16 games than the Ravens in 17.
Therefore, if the Ravens are victorious on Sunday and the two teams are scheduled to meet in a wild card game, then the league has proposed that the ground be determined by lottery.
The Bengals’ game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday further complicates matters.
If Baltimore beats Cincinnati this weekend, it will have beaten its divisional opponent twice.
While the Bills-Bengals game will not resume, Buffalo’s Week 18 game against the New England Patriots is still scheduled to continue on Sunday.
When asked why his team has to play this weekend, Bills head coach Sean McDermott insisted that his team owes it to his teammate, revealing that Hamlin’s father, Mario, he had told them that it was what his son would want.
He said: ‘I feel strongly that, as his father Mario had mentioned to us, that this is what Damar would have wanted. We owe it to Damar and his family.
Hamlin had been sedated following his CPR on the field Monday, but began communicating with doctors in writing Wednesday as his verbal communication continues to be hampered by his breathing tube.
The 24-year-old defensive back even asked the doctors who won Monday’s game, and quarterback Josh Allen said he and his teammates loved hearing it, as it showed what kind of person safety is.
Bills head coach Sean MCDermott insisted his team owes it to Hamlin to play Sunday.
Damar Hamlin pictured with her father, Mario, during his playing days in Pittsburgh
Hamlin hit a single off Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins during the first quarter of the game and got back to his feet before immediately falling into the game.
Bills assistant coach Denny Kellington gave Hamlin CPR on the field after he collapsed before security was taken to the hospital.
Speaking at the Bills’ first media availability since the incident, McDermott hailed the assistant coach as a “true hero.”
“To give you context, Denny is one of our assistant coaches,” McDermott explained. ‘Like our team, his team does mock exercises for this kind of thing, but we’re not around for that. As they say, practice pays off.
“For an assistant to find himself in that position and take over and step up like he did, it’s unbelievable,” he continued as he paid tribute to the assistant. ‘The courage it took, you speak of a true leader and a true hero, for saving Damar’s life. I admire his strength.