Couldn’t the NFL have come up with a better solution to this problem? The NFL league office and the 32 owners have voted and confirmed that the AFC Playoffs will undergo massive, unprecedented changes in the wake of the Damar Hamlin incident, though these changes are rather dumb.
So, the entire rule system is just as flimsy as the NFL league office’s commitment to the health and safety of its players.
For those who don’t know, the NFL announced today that they are abandoning the Bengals-Bills game due to the Buffalo players not wanting to play and relieve the tragedy of this past Monday’s game. Thus, with the Bengals and Bills not playing the full 17-game schedule, the NFL officers came together and completely reshuffle the AFC playoff bracket with the full consent of the 32 owners.
Therefore, the AFC playoffs will now play out a variety of different ways depending on the results of this weekend’s games:
Scenario A. If the Bills secure homefield advantage as the #1 Seed, the AFC Championship game will be played in a neutral venue if they face either the Chiefs or Bengals; Scenario B. If the Bengals secure homefield advantage as the #1 Seed, the AFC Championship game will be played in a neutral venue if they face either the Chiefs or Bills; Scenario C. If the Chiefs homefield advantage as the #1 Seed, the AFC Championship game will be played in a neutral venue if they face either the Bills or Bengals.
Oh, and if the Bengals lose to the Ravens tomorrow, the venue of the inevitable Bengals vs. Ravens playoff game will be decided by a coin toss as the Ravens would have beaten the Bengals twice and have played a game more.
See how much of a mess the AFC side of the playoff are going to be?
I’m totally fine with the Bills players wanting to just move on from that nearly-tragic Bengals game and focusing all of their efforts on the New England Patriots this weekend, but did the NFL really have to ruin the very reason why all the teams have battled for 18 weeks?
Every team with even a shadow of a hope of winning the Super Bowl started off this year with at least one goal: win your division and secure a homefield playoff game for your fans and local community.
Having the AFC Championship game being played in Indianapolis, Pittsburgh (if they miss the playoffs), Atlanta, or Houston if either the Bills, Chiefs, or Bengals face off against one another defeats the purpose of all their hard work. Now, I know this is only being done out of respect for Damar Hamlin and the circumstances surrounding him, and I totally understand that.
What happened to Hamlin on Monday Night Football was unprecedented and unforeseen, which is why the NFL had to enact emergency transition/rescheduling plans. Still, I think the league should have just added an 8th seed for both conferences to negate the Wild Card bye for the 1st Seed and ensure all teams play three games to reach the Super Bowl.
Nevertheless, speaking of Damar Hamlin, I’m so happy that he has made remarkable progress ever since I wrote that gloomy article on Tuesday. Not only has he shown full control over all neurological functions, but he is also off his breathing tube and has begun speaking again. He even spoke to his Bills teammates!
God was certainly on Damar’s side to make such a fantastic recovery in quick fashion.
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