The NFL has revealed its plans for AFC playoff seeding within the wake of the tragic occasion that befell throughout the Buffalo Payments and Cincinnati Bengals recreation on Monday night time.

Firstly, the NFL has confirmed that the Payments-Bengals recreation won’t be resumed and has been canceled. Secondly, the league will take into account a impartial web site for the AFC Championship Sport underneath sure circumstances. Right here is the NFL’s full press launch:

The NFL introduced immediately that the Week 17 Buffalo Payments at Cincinnati Bengals recreation won’t be resumed and has been cancelled.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell knowledgeable all golf equipment of his determination earlier immediately, after talking with the Payments, the Bengals and NFL Gamers Affiliation management.

“This has been a really troublesome week,” Goodell mentioned. “We proceed to deal with the restoration of Damar Hamlin and are inspired by the enhancements in his situation in addition to the great outpouring of assist and take care of Damar and his household from throughout the nation.  We’re additionally extremely appreciative of the superb work of the medical personnel and commend every certainly one of them.”

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Among the many key elements in arriving at this determination:

• Not enjoying the Buffalo-Cincinnati recreation to its conclusion could have no impact on which golf equipment qualify for the postseason. No membership would qualify for the postseason and no membership can be eradicated primarily based on the end result of this recreation.
• It will require suspending the beginning of the playoffs for one week, thereby affecting all 14 golf equipment that qualify for postseason play.
• Making the choice previous to Week 18 is in line with our aggressive ideas and allows all golf equipment to know the playoff potentialities previous to enjoying the ultimate weekend of standard season video games.

Cancelling the sport between the Payments and Bengals creates potential aggressive inequities in sure playoff situations. In an effort to mitigate these inequities, NFL golf equipment will take into account tomorrow in a Particular League Assembly a decision really useful by the Commissioner and authorized immediately by the Competitors Committee, consisting of two components:

1. The AFC Championship Sport can be performed at a impartial web site if the taking part groups performed an unequal variety of video games and each may have been the primary seed and hosted the sport had all AFC golf equipment performed a full 17-game common season. These circumstances contain Buffalo or Cincinnati qualifying for the sport as a highway group and are listed under:

State of affairs 1

Buffalo and Kansas Metropolis each win or each tie – a Buffalo vs Kansas Metropolis championship recreation could be at a impartial web site.

State of affairs 2

Buffalo and Kansas Metropolis each lose and Baltimore wins or ties – a Buffalo vs Kansas Metropolis championship recreation could be at a impartial web site.

State of affairs 3

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Buffalo and Kansas Metropolis each lose and Cincinnati wins – a Buffalo or Cincinnati vs Kansas Metropolis championship recreation could be at a impartial web site.

2. If Baltimore defeats Cincinnati in Week 18 it is going to have defeated Cincinnati, a divisional opponent, twice however will be unable to host a playoff recreation as a result of Cincinnati could have a better profitable share for a 16-game schedule than Baltimore will for a 17-game schedule.

If Baltimore defeats Cincinnati and if these two golf equipment are schedule to play a Wild Card recreation in opposition to each other, the positioning for that recreation could be decided by a coin toss. If Cincinnati wins the Week 18 recreation or if Baltimore and Cincinnati usually are not scheduled to play each other within the Wild Card spherical, the sport websites could be decided by the common scheduling procedures.

“As we thought-about the soccer schedule, our ideas have been to restrict disruption throughout the league and decrease aggressive inequities,” Goodell mentioned.  “I acknowledge that there isn’t any good resolution. The proposal we’re asking the possession to think about, nonetheless, addresses essentially the most vital potential equitable points created by the troublesome, however needed, determination to not play the sport underneath these extraordinary circumstances.”

So how does this all influence Kansas Metropolis? With a win in opposition to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18, they’d be the AFC’s No. 1 seed primarily based on profitable share. Underneath the league’s proposed decision, it’s attainable that the Chiefs could possibly be the AFC’s No. 1 seed and wouldn’t play host to the AFC title recreation primarily based on their opponent.

Here’s what all the impartial web site situations would appear like:

• 14-3 Chiefs vs. 13-3 Payments could be performed at a impartial web site
• 13-4 Chiefs vs. 12-4 Payments could be performed at a impartial web site
• 13-4 Chiefs vs. 12-4 Bengals could be performed at a impartial web site

The league will maintain a particular league assembly with NFL house owners on Friday to debate, approve, disapprove or doubtlessly modify the proposed decision.