The Bengals and Baltimore Ravens could also have their expected opening-round playoff meeting locations determined by a coin toss under the proposed modified format.
The changes were recommended by commissioner Roger Goodell and approved by the league’s rule-making competition committee on Thursday, the NFL said. We are going to meet at a video conference about
“When considering the football schedule, our principle was to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive unfairness,” Goodell said. in a statement“We are aware that there is no perfect solution. It addresses the most serious potential fairness issues raised by the decision.”
NFL deliberations over scheduling issues began after Monday’s game in Cincinnati was canceled during the first quarter. I was. The match was postponed later that night.Hamlin’s doctor at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said Thursday that he his recovery went well.
The league decided Thursday to call off the Bills-Bengals game.
“It’s been a very difficult week,” Goodell said. “We remain focused on Dumar Hamlin’s recovery and are encouraged by the improvement in his condition and the tremendous amount of support and care for Dumar and his family from across the country. I sincerely thank each and every one of you for the wonderful work you have done.”
These two teams each play 16 regular season games, one less than any other NFL team. The AFC’s playoff seeding is determined by the team’s winning percentage.
The cancellation puts the Kansas City Chiefs on their way to the top seed in the AFC playoffs ahead of the Bills. The Chiefs can secure that with a win over the Raiders in Las Vegas on Saturday. I was. They could have secured the No. 1 seed by beating the Bengals on Monday and the New England Patriots on Sunday to finish the regular season.
To address this, the league has devised a system where the AFC title fight will be played at a neutral site if the Bills or Bengals are road teams and could potentially host a game if they win Monday’s game. As such, it only applies to specific results under the complex formula, with a more distinct focus after this weekend’s results.
For example, if the Chiefs and Bills both win this weekend and then face each other in the AFC Championship Game, that game will be played on a neutral site. In that scenario, had the Bills beat the Bengals on Monday, they could have been the No. 1 seed. But if the Chiefs win on Saturday and the Bills lose on Sunday, the AFC title game Chiefs vs. Bills will be played in Kansas City. In that scenario, even if the Bills won Monday’s game, the Chiefs would have been the top seed.
The NFL has yet to determine where the AFC Championship games will be played at the neutral site, according to people familiar with the plan.
A potential coin toss to determine the home team for the Ravens vs. Bengals game will only be enabled if the Ravens win Sunday’s matchup between the two teams in Cincinnati.
Upon deciding not to reschedule the postponed game, the NFL considered various possibilities. There has been speculation about the possibility of adding his eighth playoff team to the AFC’s postseason field. Add an eighth playoff team in both conferences. Or let the AFC’s top-seeded team choose between a first-round bye or home field advantage in the conference title game.
DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, said Thursday that the league would have had to negotiate with the union to add a playoff team. Said they didn’t receive it.
The league had not considered adding an eighth team to the AFC playoffs, according to people familiar with the deliberations.
“Everything is being considered,” Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, said Wednesday.
With an extra weekend added to the regular season, the league could reschedule the Bills Bengals’ restart as a standalone game, postpone the playoffs, and eliminate the weekend between the conference title game and the Super Bowl. It could have played the rest of the postponed games over the weekend, including the NFC playoff games, and postponed the AFC playoff games for a week. Instead, the NFL chose not to revisit the postponed games.
The league has had to deal with rescheduling of the recent season affected by the pandemic. However, this time the postponement took place in the second half of the regular season, so there was no room to maneuver without delaying the playoffs.
Vincent said Wednesday that the NFL’s scheduling decisions may not ensure competitive fairness under the circumstances.
“As we have seen, there could be a potential lack of fairness. It allows me to continue.”
