The NFL announced today that the Buffalo Bills’ Week 17 game at the Cincinnati Bengals has been canceled.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today updated all clubs of his decision after speaking with leadership of the Bills, Bengals and NFL Players Association.
“It’s been a very difficult week,” Goodell said. “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.”
Key factors in this decision include:
- Failure to complete the Buffalo-Cincinnati game will not affect which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the post-season and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of that game.
- It would require delaying the start of the playoffs by a week, affecting all 14 clubs qualifying for the post-season game.
- Making the decision before week 18 is in line with our competition principles and allows all clubs to be aware of the playoff opportunities before they head into the final weekend of regular season games.
The cancellation of the game between the Bills and the Bengals creates potential competitive disparities in certain playoff scenarios. To mitigate these injustices, NFL clubs will consider a resolution recommended by the Commissioner and approved today by the Competition Committee at a Special League meeting tomorrow, consisting of two elements:
1 – The AFC Championship game will be played at a neutral venue if the participating teams play an unequal number of games and could both be seeded number one and host the game if all AFC clubs had played a full 17-game regular season. Under these circumstances, either Buffalo or Cincinnati as a road team will qualify for the game and are listed below:
Buffalo and Kansas City either win or both tie – a championship game between Buffalo and Kansas City would be played at a neutral venue.
Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore wins or a tie — a championship game between Buffalo and Kansas City would be played at a neutral venue.
Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins — a championship game between Buffalo or Cincinnati and Kansas City would be played at a neutral venue.
2 – If Baltimore beats Cincinnati in Week 18, it will have beaten Cincinnati, a division opponent, twice, but cannot host a playoff game because Cincinnati on a 16-game schedule has a higher win percentage than Baltimore on a 17-game schedule.
If Baltimore defeats Cincinnati and if those two clubs play a wild card game against each other, the venue for that game will be determined by a coin toss. If Cincinnati wins the Week 18 game, or if Baltimore and Cincinnati are not scheduled to play in the wild card round, the venues will be determined through regular scheduling procedures.
“When looking at the football plan, our principle was to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive disparities,” Goodell said. “I recognize that there is no perfect solution. However, the proposal we are soliciting from the owners addresses the key potential equitable issues raised by the difficult but necessary decision not to play the game in these extraordinary circumstances.”