NFL announces scenarios for potential neutral AFC Championship Game site

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The NFL has canceled the Week 17 matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, the league announced Thursday.

In a statement, the league acknowledged the potential inequities canceling a game could create for playoff scenarios, so there are two elements the NFL could proceed with after the conclusion of a Special League Meeting on Friday.

First, the AFC Championship Game will be played at a neutral site if the two teams competing played an unequal number of games and could've finished with the conference's No. 1 seed should all 17 games have been played. This would involve Buffalo or Cincinnati making the game as the road team, which proposes three scenarios:

  • Scenario 1: Buffalo and Kansas City both win or both tie - a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site
  • Scenario 2: Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore wins or ties - a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site
  • Scenario 3: Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins - a Buffalo or Cincinnati vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site

Potential sites for a neutral AFC Championship Game have not been discussed yet, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. But if the Chiefs lose Saturday and the Bills win on Sunday, then Buffalo would grab the No. 1 seed and neutral sites would not come into play.

Second, if Baltimore defeats Cincinnati in Week 18, it will have defeated Cincinnati, a divisional opponent, twice but will not be able to host a playoff game because Cincinnati will have a higher winning percentage for a 16-game schedule than Baltimore will for a 17-game schedule.

Should Baltimore beat Cincinnati and meet again in a Wild Card game, the site for that game would be determined by a coin toss. But if Cincinnati wins the Week 18 game or if Baltimore and Cincinnati are not scheduled to play one another in the Wild Card round, the game sites would be determined by the regular scheduling procedures. 

Regardless of the outcome, however, the Bengals will be recognized as the AFC North champions since they have the higher winning percentage, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Only a coin flip in a potential Bengals-Ravens Wild Card game would give Baltimore a home playoff game.

Schefter also reported that the NFL never considered adding an eighth playoff team to each conference.

During the first quarter of Monday night's contest, Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in Paycor Stadium and suffered a cardiac arrest. The NFL suspended the game, then later postponed it after Hamlin was in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. 

On Thursday, the Bills announced that Hamlin had woke up and showed "remarkable improvement" after three days. He also appeared to be "neurologically intact."

The Associated Press had reported earlier on Thursday that the NFL was planning not to resume the contest.

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