The Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game that was suspended following Damar Hamlin’s injury will not resume this week. Will it ever be rescheduled? That’s unlikely, according to multiple reports.
So, what does that mean for AFC playoff seeding? The NFL reportedly is considering some creative solutions.
While it could declare Bills-Bengals a no-contest and seed the postseason based on winning percentage rather than final record, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported two potential options the league is exploring.
“There are many ideas the league is kicking around, and they now can go into overdrive knowing that doctors feel encouraged about Damar Hamlin and his recovery a few days after the tragic circumstances of Monday night,” Schefter said Thursday on ESPN’s “First Take,” referring to positive updates issued by the Bills and Hamlin’s doctors at University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
“… Let me present a couple of scenarios that I think are under consideration and discussion, and I think they’re a little bit different than a lot of people would have thought.”
The first, which Schefter credited to former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Matt Hasselbeck, would have the No. 1 seed choose whether it wants a first-round playoff bye or home-field advantage through the AFC playoffs, with the No. 2 seed receiving the other.
For example, if the Bills finished with the best record and chose the bye option, then the second seed — say, the Kansas City Chiefs — would get home-field and would host the AFC Championship Game if both teams advanced that far.
“That would be one scenario that I believe the league has talked about,” Schefter said.
The other: If the AFC title game involves two of the teams currently in contention for the top seed — so, Buffalo, Kansas City or Cincinnati — it would be played at a neutral site, negating any home-field advantage.
Schefter reportedly this idea “might be even more viable and more discussed and might be the one the league enacts before Saturday’s games,” though it’s unclear which team would receive a first-round bye in that scenario.
Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk — who, like Schefter, reported that Bills-Bengals “most likely will not be played” — floated a third potential playoff fix: add an eighth team to the postseason field in both conferences and make all of them play on wild-card weekend.
It wasn’t clear whether this was Florio’s own proposal or one the NFL is actively considering.
The New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans are fighting for the seventh and final playoff berth in the AFC, with the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers doing to in the NFC.
While it has yet to make a decision on a possible Bills-Bengals resumption, the NFL plays to play its Week 18 slate as scheduled, including the Bills’ home game against the Patriots on Sunday.
