MNF Week 17: Buffalo Bills @ Cincinnati Bengals

[stl4life07]

The league better not give KC home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Let the Bills or Bengals get it bc they both did beat KC head to head this season. Nobody outside of Chiefs fans want to see them again play home games in the playoffs. Let’s see how Mahomes do in the AFC playoffs on the road for a change. 

[ChazStandard]

Maybe they should have just played the game last night, Denmark finished the game after Eriksen went down, they finished the race after Senna died (and another driver died qualifying the day before). Clint Malarchuk got his throat slit live on television, they finished that game too.

It’s not perfect, it’s not fun, but sometimes the best thing to do is just get on with things. Now the league faces an annoying g problem with no solution that feels fair or will please everyone.

Edited January 4, 2023 by ChazStandard

[aceinthehouse]

There are few viable options to decide this game, if it will not be played.

1)Bengals win 7-3

2)A draw (tie)

3)Run a Madden 23 simulated game (or have a player from each team play one another) "Live"

4)Flip a coin

I think option 3 would be pretty cool, considering the circumstances.

 

[Broncofan]

Let’s be real the NFL is praying that CIN beats BAL, and either KC or BUF loses.   In that scenario this game is meaningless.  
 

The NFL actions on MNF most likely reflect total lack of preparedness given this situation has never occurred in the modern TV era (1971).   Even with Ryan Shazier he was awake and talking.    It wasn’t malice - just complete chaos and confusion.   It’s almost certainly why the 5-min pause / restart was likely raised on the field - that’s the NFL standard response.   Vincent can spin it didn't happen on their end - but almost certainly some official followed the handbook - not realizing the handbook wasn’t meant for this extreme.  
 

Having said that Goodell & others’ lack of decisiveness in the next 60-90 mins are why we’re here.    It wasn’t by design - why is why the league hasn’t made a final call on the game outcome.   They’re praying that if BUF or KC loses, coupled with a CIN W - it’s all moot.   IMO that’s really what we are seeing now.   It’s not the league trying to screw over 1 org.   It’s just them hoping the games in week 17 make this all go away, because there’s no single solution that doesn’t penalize 1 org over others  for the missed game.  

[biggie.]

2 hours ago, aceinthehouse said:

There are few viable options to decide this game, if it will not be played.

1)Bengals win 7-3

2)A draw (tie)

3)Run a Madden 23 simulated game (or have a player from each team play one another) "Live"

4)Flip a coin

I think option 3 would be pretty cool, considering the circumstances.

 

Or...

 

[Manny/Patrick]

I still think it’s crazy how this could happen at any moment, in any sport. A baseball hits the pitcher in the chest as his heart is beating and he could suddenly go into cardiac arrest, any hockey puck could hit a player, a situation like last night. I wonder going forward will players be more hesitant to lower their pads as they run into defenders. I’ve seen Deebo do this alot and it’s pretty scary to think we watched a young man die last night and thanks to the amazing personnel on the field we were able to bring him back. My son is 5 years old and I was hoping to get him into football soon, and I love football and played when I was younger but this is a crazy situation to see unfold. Im praying for Demar right now, and I hope he makes it. 

[squire12]

2 hours ago, Broncofan said:

Let’s be real the NFL is praying that CIN beats BAL, and either KC or BUF loses.   In that scenario this game is meaningless

I think Cincinnati would be the 1 seed with 2 wins and a KC loss.  So in your scenario,  the game has significant meaning

[BillSabre]

2 minutes ago, squire12 said:

I think Cincinnati would be the 1 seed with 2 wins and a KC loss.  So in your scenario,  the game has significant meaning

I believe he meant praying that the game becomes insignificant. The ONLY way the game would become insignificant to seeding would be Chiefs AND Bengals losing combined with a Bills win. 
 

Every other scenario leaves a seeding issue. 

 

 
 

 

[Beck Bristow]

12 minutes ago, BillSabre said:

I believe he meant praying that the game becomes insignificant. The ONLY way the game would become insignificant to seeding would be Chiefs AND Bengals losing combined with a Bills win. 
 

Every other scenario leaves a seeding issue. 

 

 
 

 

If the Bengals lose then it matters for the AFC North Champion.

[THE DUKE]

3 hours ago, Broncofan said:

Having said that Goodell & others’ lack of decisiveness in the next 60-90 mins are why we’re here.    It wasn’t by design - why is why the league hasn’t made a final call on the game outcome.   They’re praying that if BUF or KC loses, coupled with a CIN W - it’s all moot.   IMO that’s really what we are seeing now.   It’s not the league trying to screw over 1 org.   It’s just them hoping the games in week 17 make this all go away, because there’s no single solution that doesn’t penalize 1 org over others  for the missed game.  

Problem is, it isn't quite moot.  If KC loses to LV, had the Bengals beaten the Bills and then Ravens, then they would have been the 1 seed.  If the Bills beat the Bengals and NE, then they were the one seed.  KC was never the 1 seed without help, and if the "help" was Hamlin suffering a tragedy, that's a bad look as well.  No matter the solution someone is going to be pissed.  And if the NFL's plan is to wait until after this week's games, I think that feels like the wrong decision as that's a lot of time to wait with uncertainty.

If the rumor of Buffalo forfeiting the NE game would be true, they should also go ahead and forfeit the Bengals game with the caveat that any Bengals/Bills game be played at a neutral site with tickets/proceeds going 50/50 to each team.  Play it at Ford Field.  If the Bengals beat the Ravens and KC loses to LV, then that would only be in the AFC championship game, if KC beats LV, it'd be in the divisional round assuming each team wins their wildcard round game.

[BillSabre]

1 minute ago, Beck Bristow said:

If the Bengals lose then it matters for the AFC North Champion.

Ok, I stand corrected. The scenario I explained is for the top 3 seeds. The situation for the AFCN is also crazy if the game isn’t played because a Ravens win should win the division but may not. To me, a better division record and a sweep should trump a technicality. 

[onejayhawk]

I do not see any scenario where both teams accept a resolution without a game. While there are no situations where a no-contest is insignificant, that appears to be the only viable option. There is literally no time for anything else. 

The unspoken issue is how long it takes the NFL to make a decision. Now that the game is officially not scheduled for  week 17, the NFL needs to announce the cancellation before week 18 starts on Thursday.

The most amusing suggestion I have heard is that in week 18 the Bills and Bengals play while their opponents play each other. Aside from the logistical aspects, the suggestion resolves almost nothing, just the tie-breaker between the two teams. Everything else is resolved by washing the week 17 game out.

[Steelersfan43]

3 hours ago, Broncofan said:

Let’s be real the NFL is praying that CIN beats BAL, and either KC or BUF loses.   In that scenario this game is meaningless.  
 

The NFL actions on MNF most likely reflect total lack of preparedness given this situation has never occurred in the modern TV era (1971).   Even with Ryan Shazier he was awake and talking.    It wasn’t malice - just complete chaos and confusion.   It’s almost certainly why the 5-min pause / restart was likely raised on the field - that’s the NFL standard response.   Vincent can spin it didn't happen on their end - but almost certainly some official followed the handbook - not realizing the handbook wasn’t meant for this extreme.  
 

Having said that Goodell & others’ lack of decisiveness in the next 60-90 mins are why we’re here.    It wasn’t by design - why is why the league hasn’t made a final call on the game outcome.   They’re praying that if BUF or KC loses, coupled with a CIN W - it’s all moot.   IMO that’s really what we are seeing now.   It’s not the league trying to screw over 1 org.   It’s just them hoping the games in week 17 make this all go away, because there’s no single solution that doesn’t penalize 1 org over others  for the missed game.  

In this scenario,the Bengals would a chance to be the first seed with a win vs Buffalo and Baltimore.This game were so important no matter what!

Edited January 4, 2023 by Steelersfan43

[INbengalfan]

3 hours ago, Broncofan said:

Let’s be real the NFL is praying that CIN beats BAL, and either KC or BUF loses.   In that scenario this game is meaningless.  
 

The NFL actions on MNF most likely reflect total lack of preparedness given this situation has never occurred in the modern TV era (1971).   Even with Ryan Shazier he was awake and talking.    It wasn’t malice - just complete chaos and confusion.   It’s almost certainly why the 5-min pause / restart was likely raised on the field - that’s the NFL standard response.   Vincent can spin it didn't happen on their end - but almost certainly some official followed the handbook - not realizing the handbook wasn’t meant for this extreme.  
 

Having said that Goodell & others’ lack of decisiveness in the next 60-90 mins are why we’re here.    It wasn’t by design - why is why the league hasn’t made a final call on the game outcome.   They’re praying that if BUF or KC loses, coupled with a CIN W - it’s all moot.   IMO that’s really what we are seeing now.   It’s not the league trying to screw over 1 org.   It’s just them hoping the games in week 17 make this all go away, because there’s no single solution that doesn’t penalize 1 org over others  for the missed game.  

I've been saying this all day on other sites and mentioned it pages and pages ago. But there's another route the two teams could go.  And since they seem to have come together every step of the way since Hamlin went down, I could see any of the following scenarios....

1.  Bengals win, Chiefs win, Bills win.  Bengals are assured the 3 seed, so they forfeit the game.  Buffalo gets the 1 seed and a very much needed bye after Sunday's game to try to pull it back together.

2.  Bengals lose, Bills win, Chiefs win.  Bills now take the forfeit, locking Cincy into the three seed.

3.  Bengals win, Bills win, Chiefs lose.  Agree to a coin flip.  Forget about all the other stuff, because neither team is interested in shoe-horning another game into this.  Or they meet together and decide.  Maybe the bengals give the Bills the bye, which as much as it pains the passionate Bengal; fan in me, it is 100% the absolute right thing to do.  And because of it, maybe Bills agree to playing in Cincy IF they meet in the AGFCCG.  Both teams give something to the other, in essence sharing the burden while also giving back to the other for the mutual support.  That's such an anti-NFL competition thing to do, but imagine the human story it tells.

[warfelg]