CINCINNATI — The Game of the Week 17 between the Bengals and Bills has been canceled and will not go ahead, the league announced Thursday night.
Monday’s game was halted with less than six minutes remaining in the first quarter when Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after a tackle. His heartbeat was restored in the field before being transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
“It’s been a very difficult week,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement Thursday. “We remain focused on Damar Hamlin’s recovery and are heartened by the improvements in his condition and the tremendous support and concern for Damar and his family from across the country. We are also incredibly grateful for the amazing work done by the medical staff and commend each and every one of them.”
Doctors said earlier in the day that Hamlin has shown “substantial improvement”, including communicating through writing and moving his hands and feet, although he is still believed to be critically ill.
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In announcing the decision to cancel the game, the NFL cited three key factors: The outcome would not affect which teams qualified for the postseason; Playing the game would have changed the playoff schedule for the remaining teams. and not playing the game would allow all clubs to know the post-season possibilities before the start of Week 18.
At the time of the stoppage, the Bengals were leading 7-3. NFL officials have claimed there are no plans for Monday’s game to resume after Hamlin collapsed and was transported to the hospital.
Buffalo (12-3) went into Week 17 with the Kansas City Chiefs (now 13-3) for the best record in the AFC but held the neck-and-neck tiebreaker. Cincinnati (11-4) was a game behind both teams but would have held a three-way tie break with a win over the Bills. The Bengals, now champions of the AFC North, beat the Chiefs in Week 13 in a repeat of last year’s AFC Championship game.
Due to the canceled game, league owners will vote on Friday — by 24 votes out of 32 required (three-quarters majority) — on scenarios approved by the Competitions Committee on Thursday that include a neutral venue for an AFC Championship game. These are dependent on the results of week 18:
• If Buffalo and Kansas City both win or draw, a Bills Chiefs Championship game will be played at a neutral venue.
• If Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore wins or ties, a Bills Chiefs championship game will be played at a neutral venue.
• If Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins, a Bills or Bengals vs. Chiefs championship game will be played at a neutral venue.
The potential neutral bodies have not yet been determined. The seeds will hold up through the playoffs.
If Buffalo and Kansas City both win this weekend, the Chiefs will get a bye. If Buffalo wins and Kansas City loses, the Bills will be No. 1 and get the bye, and no neutral sides would come into play.
If the Baltimore Ravens win and face Cincinnati in an AFC wildcard game, location is determined by a coin toss. If Cincinnati wins, or if the two teams don’t face off after a potential Ravens win, regular scheduling procedures will come into effect.
Bengal’s executive vice president Katie Blackburn is a member of the competition committee that approved the scenarios on Thursday. In a memo from ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, Blackburn urged committee members to vote against the scenarios. Their reasoning arose from the timing of a rule change away from the standard win percentages used in this scenario.
“The proper process for rule changes (sic) occurs in the off-season,” Blackburn wrote. “It is not appropriate to allow teams to vote for something that could create bias, favor one team over another, or affect their own situation when the voting is taking place immediately before the playoffs.”
In his statement, Goodell said he recognizes that “there is no such thing as a perfect solution”.
“When looking at the football plan, our principle was to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive differences,” he said.
On Wednesday, Bengals coach Zac Taylor said the team is preparing to face the Ravens while the league ponders the future of the Bills-Bengals competition.
“We’re going to let those decisions be made among those who want to make them,” Taylor said. “All that’s really ahead of us now is getting ready for Baltimore on Sunday.”
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said postponing the game was difficult.
“I think whatever Buffalo wants to do would be what we want to do,” Burrow said Wednesday. “We stand behind them 100% and support them in whatever they would do in the future.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano contributed to this report.