We continue the season, but we forget this game. The NFL announced overnight from Thursday to Friday that the meeting between the Bills and the Bengals, interrupted by Damar Hamlin’s heart disease, would never resume and was therefore canceled.
The league puts forward three points to justify this decision:
– the result of the match had no impact on the names of the teams qualified for the playoffs.
– postponing the match would have meant postponing the start of the playoffs by a week, which would have affected the 14 qualified teams.
– making the decision before the matches of Week 18 allows all the teams to be fixed on the playoff scenarios before the last match.
The AFC final on neutral ground?
The teams affected by this cancellation are therefore above all the Bills, the Bengals… but also the Chiefs. The three teams were fighting for the top spot in the AFC, synonymous with a week of rest and home advantage.
The league decided by deciding that the AFC conference final would be played on neutral ground if the two teams present did not play the same number of regular season games.
Three scenarios in this case:
– The Bills and Chiefs both win in Week 18, a Chiefs-Bills final would be played on neutral ground.
– The Bills and Chiefs both lose in Week 18, a Chiefs-Bills final would be played on neutral ground.
– The Bills and Chiefs both lose in Week 18 and the Bengals win, a Chiefs – Bills or Bengals final would be played on neutral ground.
This organization has been submitted by the league to the competition committee, which should officially approve it in the coming hours.
A Bengals – Ravens toss or a tail?
Another intrigue of Week 18, the victory in the AFC North division. If the Ravens beat the Bengals on Sunday, and the two teams find themselves in the first round of the playoffs, the Ravens could not host the game because the Bengals would finish with a better winning percentage but in fewer games.
The host of the eventual playoff match between the two teams would then be determined by a coin toss. If the two teams do not meet in the playoffs or if Cincinnati wins on Sunday, the places of the matches will be determined normally.
