After officially canceling the Bengals-Bills game Thursday following Damar Hamlin’s terrifying on-field cardiac arrest, the NFL now has a proposed resolution to mitigate the scheduling inequalities.
On Friday, NFL clubs will hold a special meeting to consider a plan recommended by commissioner Roger Goodell and approved by the league’s competition committee. The proposal consists of two main parts.
If the two teams in the AFC Championship have played an unequal number of regular-season games, and they both would have had a chance to be the No. 1 seed if they had played a full 17-game season, it would be played at a neutral site.
In addition, if the Ravens defeat the Bengals this weekend, and the two teams are set to play each other in the wild-card round, the home site will be determined by a coin toss. Otherwise, the Ravens would not be able to host a playoff game despite beating the Bengals, a division opponent, twice. The Bengals’ 16-game winning percentage would be better than the Ravens’ 17-game winning percentage.
Roger Goodell has proposed a resolution to fix the inequities prompted by the Bengals-Bills game being cancelled. Action Images via Reuters
“As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities,” Goodell said in a statement. “I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addressed the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances.”
Goodell pointed to three key factors in the league’s decision not to resume the Bengals-Bills game: The AFC playoff field is set, and not playing won’t have any effect on which teams can qualify — it will only affect seeding and venues. In addition, if the game were to be made up, it would require the playoffs to be postponed a week, affecting all 14 teams in the postseason. And finally, coming to an agreement before Week 18 allows all teams affected to know all the different possibilities before they play their final game of the season.
The Bengals-Bills “Monday Night Football” game was suspended during the first quarter when Hamlin collapsed on the field after suffering from cardiac arrest. He tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins in a seemingly routine play, but fell to the ground after getting back to his feet. He received CPR on the field and was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. On Thursday, however, doctors announced that Hamlin is “awake” and has “shown remarkable improvement.”
