Zach Dean
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Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon isn’t pleased with the NFL’s proposal in wake of the cancellation of Monday’s Bills-Bengals game.
The league announced Thursday that the game, which was suspended in the first half after Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after a tackle, would not be resumed and instead be ruled a no-contest.
Not playing that game has serious ramifications in the AFC playoff field. With a win Saturday over Las Vegas, the Kansas Chiefs lock up the No. 1 seed. The Bengals no longer have a chance to win the top seed, but do lock up the AFC North.
However, should they lose to Baltimore Sunday, a coin flip would decide who hosts next week’s AFC Wild Card rematch.
The Bills, meanwhile, can no longer win the AFC by just simply winning Sunday, but if a hypothetical AFC title game pits Buffalo against Kansas City, that game would now be played at a neutral site.
Got all that?
Anyway, that’s not historically how the NFL settles these disputes. In fact, the rule book states the NFL must go by winning percentage to determine playoff seeding in situations like this, therefore eliminating the proposed coin flips and neutral sites.
Mixon clearly reads the rules, too. He tweeted a screenshot of the league’s rules late Thursday with the caption, “So we not following the rules no more.”
NFL owners to vote on proposal Friday
Does Mixon have a point? Maybe. Frankly, the only way these proposals at all benefit Cincinnati is if the Bengals win this weekend, the Chiefs and Bills lose, and the Bengals wind up in the AFC title game against one of them.
In that case, the game would be played at a neutral site.
Despite winning the AFC North, if the Bengals lose to the Ravens Sunday they could still travel to Baltimore for next week’s playoff game should the coin flip not work out in their favor.
Side note: tails never fails!
While Mixon isn’t happy, there is still a chance more changes are made.
In an attempt to mitigate potential inequities, the NFL is holding a Special League Meeting today. Teams will consider one resolution consisting of two elements recommended by Commissioner Roger Goodell that have been approved by the Competition Committee.
I hate Kansas City, but why should the KC fans get screwed out of a home game because the NFL cowards won’t fiish a very important game? As usual ShitStainClown Goodell does the wrong thing.
Winning percentage makes sense and then just seed the teams 1-7, higher seed gets the home game, there’s gotta be more revenue to be made at a neutral site game, they wouldn’t do it otherwise.
The first round bye is more important in my opinion. Go to 8 playoff teams. Nobody gets that bye. Teams win on the road all the time. Either way it’s a mess and no win situation. Glad the dude is getting better.
I don’t understand all the bellyaching over this. No, technically they are not going by the letter of the law but overall, think the NFL actually made a pretty fair negotiation between all teams involved. I have no problem with them cancelling the game so long as both teams were on board with it.
The biggest winner in this is KC since they will get the nod over Buffalo for the top seed. Cincinatti would have been a long shot to grab that #1 seed/first round bye anyway. Say they beat Buffalo and they win their final game. That would put them at 13-4. Assuming Buffalo loses to Cincinatti and wins their final game, they would also be 13-4. In that case Cincinnati still only be the #2 seed as there is only like a 2% chance KC loses to the Raiders this weekend.
If Cincinnati is mad about a coin-flip for home field in a potential wildcard matchup, then I don’t know what to tell them. How about don’t lose a 2nd game to a shitty Baltimore team with a backup QB. Win week 18 and you host someone.
There is no solution that is going to make everyone involved 100% happy.