NFL: Bills-Bengals postponement impact on schedule discussion (UPD: Game cancelled)

[Hockeyholic]

Note: The Raiders and Patriots will both get killed on the weekend. So I am jumping ahead.

Imagine the outrage for giving Buffalo a one seed when it appeared they were on the way to losing 4 games. While KC finished with three losses. When KC played 17. Buffalo 16 due to postponed game they were losing.

That is simply unfair to KC.

Buffalo did not fulfill their alloted 17 game schedule. KC did.

Buffalo gets three straight home games starting Sunday. A potential AFC title game wouldn't be at Arrowhead. It will be in a random stadium.

The league got this right. And if the roles were reversed, I'd agree with it.

 

[Hockeyholic]

This ruling hurts exactly 2 teams and benefits 1 team greatly

Are you insinuating Buffalo is hurt by this rule?

All Buffalo has to do is beat a very bad NE club Sunday at home. That's it.

They do that and they get two home playoff games before a potential AFC title game in a neutral setting. Or, maybe they get lucky and host the title game.

Cincinnati could have lost Mon night. Meaning a loss to Baltimore would have clinched the division for Baltimore. However, Bengals were not in a situation where they could lose.

Thus, it's unfair to Baltimore to just give the division to Cincinnati when one team played 17. The other 16.

I think Baltimore gets the short end of the stick here because they have to beat Cincinnati and win a coin toss to get a home playoff game.

Cincinnati is a better team. Top to bottom than Baltimore. There is no excuse not to beat a back up QB Sun and make all this a moot point.

 

[BB88]

Are you insinuating Buffalo is hurt by this rule?

All Buffalo has to do is beat a very bad NE club Sunday at home. That's it.

They do that and they get two home playoff games before a potential AFC title game in a neutral setting. Or, maybe they get lucky and host the title game.

Cincinnati could have lost Mon night. Meaning a loss to Baltimore would have clinched the division for Baltimore. However, Bengals were not in a situation where they could lose.

Thus, it's unfair to Baltimore to just give the division to Cincinnati when one team played 17. The other 16.

I think Baltimore gets the short end of the stick here because they have to beat Cincinnati and win a coin toss to get a home playoff game.

Cincinnati is a better team. Top to bottom than Baltimore. There is no excuse not to beat a back up QB Sun and make all this a moot point.

Buffalo lost their #1 with a tiebreaker over the Chiefs without losing a game

So yeah this decision hurts the Bills. How is it difficult to understand?

#1 means you have to play either Chiefs or Bengals to get to Super bowl.
#2 means you have to play both Bengals and Chiefs to get into the Super bowl.

This decision made the Chiefs clear victors.

 

[misterchainsaw]

Can we stop with the "Bills were on their way to losing"? It's pants on head stupid. You can justify the Chiefs having the 1 seed quite easily without saying that - the winning percentage does favor the Chiefs.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Buffalo lost their #1 with a tiebreaker over the Chiefs without losing a game

So yeah this decision hurts the Bills. How is it difficult to understand?

#1 means you have to play either Chiefs or Bengals to get to Super bowl.
#2 means you have to play both Bengals and Chiefs to get into the Super bowl.

This decision made the Chiefs clear victors

Buffalo isn't playing 17 games though.

They could've lost Mon, meaning KC wins the 1 seed winning Tom.

It's unfair to penalize a team for having a higher winning percentage after 17 games to 16 for the other.

Keep in mind, KC has to play a neutral site game if they play Buffalo in AFC title game.

Can we stop with the "Bills were on their way to losing"? It's pants on head stupid. You can justify the Chiefs having the 1 seed quite easily without saying that - the winning percentage does favor the Chiefs.

Agreed.

They weren't on their way to winning or losing. The game basically never happened.

The league got this right.

Bills had an opportunity to continue playing Mon (Not that they should have). Or, do everything possible with the NFL and Bengals to replay that game. It didn't happen.

Fair or not, Buffalo isn't fulfilling the 17 game schedule. Neither is Cincinnati.

 

[mouser]

The only team truly getting screwed in all this is the Bengals. I do not even know how someone could dispute that. This should show teams now that doing the right thing will lead you to get penalized.
So, lets recap what these changes do for the Bengals:
1) They cannot get the top seed
2) They need outside help to get the 2 seed
3) They "win" the AFC north but still need to win another game otherwise a coin flip decides if they get home field advantage for one game
4)If they face the Bills in the playoffs, no coin flip is necessary, no neutral site, the Bills get homefield. But if the Bills win this week and face Chiefs it is at a neutral site.

There is not a single benefit for the Bengals in this, not one. Not one other team could the same be said for. Next time, I would say if you dont want to play its a forfeit or we stay on the field.

I would put a caveat on #4 (from #2) that Cincy could still host Buffalo in the playoffs if the Bengals win this weekend and the Bills lose.

 

[BB88]

Buffalo isn't playing 17 games though.

They could've lost Mon, meaning KC wins the 1 seed winning Tom.

It's unfair to penalize a team for having a higher winning percentage after 17 games to 16 for the other.

Keep in mind, KC has to play a neutral site game if they play Buffalo in AFC title game.


Agreed.

They weren't on their way to winning or losing. The game basically never happened.

The league got this right.

Bills had an opportunity to continue playing Mon (Not that they should have). Or, do everything possible with the NFL and Bengals to replay that game. It didn't happen.

Fair or not, Buffalo isn't fulfilling the 17 game schedule. Neither is Cincinnati.

Neutral game vs avoiding one Bengals/Bills is a massive advantage to Chiefs.

You say it’s unfair to punish the Chiefs?
Yet before week 17 Bills were the #1 with a tiebreaker over the Chiefs and now Chiefs are the #1 without the Bills losing a game.

So instead they are punishing a team that had a better record than the Chiefs and had beaten the Chiefs.

I would put a caveat on #4 (from #2) that Cincy could still host Buffalo in the playoffs if the Bengals win this weekend and the Bills lose.

What do you mean?

It’s been said no matter what Bengals- Bills would be Bills home game

 

[misterchainsaw]

What do you mean?

It’s been said no matter what Bengals- Bills would be Bills home game

Cincinnati finishes the #2 seed if they win and Buffalo loses, as long as the SoV tiebreaker doesn't flip, which I'm not sure is even possible.

EDIT: Confirmed that the SoV can't flip and the Bengals are #2 and Bills are #3 if the Bengals win and the Bills lose.

 

[BB88]

Cincinnati finishes the #2 seed if they win and Buffalo loses, as long as the SoV tiebreaker doesn't flip, which I'm not sure is even possible.

EDIT: Confirmed that the SoV can't flip and the Bengals are #2 and Bills are #3 if the Bengals win and the Bills lose.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Neutral game vs avoiding one Bengals/Bills is a massive advantage to Chiefs.

You say it’s unfair to punish the Chiefs?
Yet before week 17 Bills were the #1 with a tiebreaker over the Chiefs and now Chiefs are the #1 without the Bills losing a game.

So instead they are punishing a team that had a better record than the Chiefs and had beaten the Chiefs.



What do you mean?

It’s been said no matter what Bengals- Bills would be Bills home game

The Bills didn't win the game either though.

That's the problem. There are 17 games.

Somebody has to be the 1 seed. You can't give it to a team that played one less game and has the same number of wins.

Regardless, if Buffalo is a SB caliber team, they will need to beat SB caliber opponents. Keep in mind, they can achieve this by winning most of their games in Buffalo.

I don't think Buffalo made out too bad.

Someone was going to get royally screwed here. Had all three AFC teams had three losses at the time of the incident, things would've shaked out a bit different.

There was no perfect way at resolving this short of Cin/Buf replaying the game.

Note: If KC loses and Buf wins, the Bills get the one seed. Meaning an AFC title game between the two is in Buffalo.

 

[misterchainsaw]

That's talking about an AFC Championship game. The 2 and 3 seeds cannot play each other in the championship game. It would have to be in the divisional game.

The only way the Bills and Bengals can play in the AFC Championship is if Buffalo wins this week and Kansas City loses, making the Bills the 1 seed.

 

[BB88]

The Bills didn't win the game either though.

That's the problem. There are 17 games.

Somebody has to be the 1 seed. You can't give it to a team that played one less game and has the same number of wins.

Regardless, if Buffalo is a SB caliber team, they will need to beat SB caliber opponents. Keep in mind, they can achieve this by winning most of their games in Buffalo.

I don't think Buffalo made out too bad.


Someone was going to get royally screwed here. Had all three AFC teams had three losses at the time of the incident, things would've shaked out a bit different.

There was no perfect way at resolving this short of Cin/Buf replaying the game.

Yet somehow 2 teams that have wins against the Chiefs get punished here and the team with lossess to the competition get the #1.

Sounds extremely fair.

Bills had the #1
Bills had the tiebreaker over the Chiefs.

Both mean zero today thanks to the decision.
They had played 16 weeks to earn the right to decide their own seeding.
Untill this decision.

That's talking about an AFC Championship game. The 2 and 3 seeds cannot play each other in the championship game. It would have to be in the divisional game.

Aa okay.

It was just written a bit oddly but I got it now

 

[misterchainsaw]

Aa okay.
But why would he/she write it like that?
If it’s not possible why mention it as it would be still in Buffalo?

The Bills and Bengals CAN play in the conference championship if the Chiefs lose Saturday and the Bills become the #1 seed. That game would be in Buffalo based on 13-3 vs. 12-4. It's not a half game difference caused by a game going unplayed, so the NFL has determined they don't care that the game cancelled could have flipped it - even games played = fair comparison between the two teams. (note: that's not neccessarily my view, but how the NFL is viewing it)

 

[GKJ]

truth be told, there was never a completely ’fair’ way of doing this, the most-fair thing to do was also the most-bad thing which was finish the game.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Yet somehow 2 teams that have wins against the Chiefs get punished here and the team with lossess to the competition get the #1.

Sounds extremely fair.

Bills had the #1
Bills had the tiebreaker over the Chiefs.

Both mean zero today thanks to the decision.
They had played 16 weeks to earn the right to decide their own seeding.
Untill this decision.

So a team that didn't get the opportunity to lose a 4th game, gets the 1 seed? Then, you have upset KC fans.

Again, there was no way to satisfy everyone.

The league needs to fix this in the offseason. It wasn't possible to extend the SB by a week or have no break between title games & SB.

It KC loses in the AFC title game or the SB, this is all moot. In terms of them getting an asterisk SB win. Which they don't deserve an asterisk if they win.

If Buffalo loses to Cin or KC, there's a great chance that it's because they were outplayed by better teams.

 

[Hockeyholic]

truth be told, there was never a completely ’fair’ way of doing this, the most-fair thing to do was also the most-bad thing which was finish the game.

Yep.

Or finish the game Tue night.

That would've solved everything.

Buffalo is getting a break in a way too because had they lost to Cincinnati, and then KC + Cin won, Buffalo would've been the 3rd seed. Now, they get two straight home games.

The AFC Champion (And SB winner) will be decided by who has the deepest team. Luckiest that day. Best that day. It won't be because of where it's played.

For what it's worth, KC has lost 4 home PO games in the past six years.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

And I get this one. The Brown family is one of the "poorest" of NFL owners. Losing a home playoff game is a significant amount of money gone.

Wat…the much bigger and obvious motivation is advancing in the playoffs.

 

[StreetHawk]

So a team that didn't get the opportunity to lose a 4th game, gets the 1 seed? Then, you have upset KC fans.

Again, there was no way to satisfy everyone.

The league needs to fix this in the offseason. It wasn't possible to extend the SB by a week or have no break between title games & SB.

It KC loses in the AFC title game or the SB, this is all moot. In terms of them getting an asterisk SB win. Which they don't deserve an asterisk if they win.

If Buffalo loses to Cin or KC, there's a great chance that it's because they were outplayed by better teams.

It was mainly due to the timing of this game being in week 17 and on Monday. No more room to fit this game in. If this was in week 10 then the Buf and cin game would get made up somehow. Even with a short week.

This was a coin flip game between 2 very good teams. Each team would have another 7-8 more possessions to change the outcome of the game. Bu may have won but could just as easily lose the game, same with Cin. Just don’t know.

Nfl seriously needs to add an extra bye week. Even before this just for TNF. If they want that game the teams need the Sunday prior to the game off. It would also then buy then another buffer week to work with. But in the end this late in the year hard to adjust.

 

[mouser]

Cincinnati finishes the #2 seed if they win and Buffalo loses, as long as the SoV tiebreaker doesn't flip, which I'm not sure is even possible.

EDIT: Confirmed that the SoV can't flip and the Bengals are #2 and Bills are #3 if the Bengals win and the Bills lose.

Yeah, I even did the napkin math on the Strength of Victory. Between their common opponents and teams who play each other in the final week (e.g. Cincy beat TB, NO, CAR, ATL so there will be a net zero gain in W/L on the SoV for them compared to Buffalo) there are only two games where Buffalo could gain ground, and zero for Cincy.

Those two games are Rams@SEA and Bears vs MIN. I don't see how netting 2 more wins then losses could flip the SoV lead Cincy has.

 

[mouser]

 

[misterchainsaw]

Yeah, I even did the napkin math on the Strength of Victory. Between their common opponents and teams who play each other in the final week (e.g. Cincy beat TB, NO, CAR, ATL so there will be a net zero gain in W/L on the SoV for them) there are only two games where Buffalo could gain ground, and zero for Cincy.

Those two games are Rams@SEA and Bears vs MIN. I don't see how netting 2 more wins then losses could flip the SoV lead Cincy has.

It actually gets them halfway there believe it or not. Each win is worth about 0.005, and CIN starts week 18 about 0.020 ahead.

 

[daver]

This ruling hurts exactly 2 teams and benefits 1 team greatly

It isn't a ruling. And why would expect the two teams who had a game cancelled wouldn't be the most affected?

And for the umpteenth time, Cincy and Buffalo benefit by not falling any more than #3 and #2, something that was on the table if they replayed their game.

Either present an alternative that wouldn't penalize the Chiefs more than the Bills/Bengals or stop bellyaching.

 

[StreetHawk]

It isn't a ruling. And why would expect the two teams who had a game cancelled wouldn't be the most affected?

Either present an alternative that wouldn't penalize the Chiefs more than the Bills/Bengals or stop bellyaching.

Think the players understand the situation from all affected teams. Making the best of it since a colleague almost died on the field. His health was the most important thing.

Now they deal with the ramifications of a canceled game. Not ideal but it’s what has been decided with PA approval.

 

[Hockeyholic]

It was mainly due to the timing of this game being in week 17 and on Monday. No more room to fit this game in. If this was in week 10 then the Buf and cin game would get made up somehow. Even with a short week.

Nfl seriously needs to add an extra bye week. Even before this just for TNF. If they want that game the teams need the Sunday prior to the game off. It would also then buy then another buffer week to work with. But in the end this late in the year hard to adjust.

I hate to say it. It may seem inhumane. But short of confirmation of a guy dying, what if a game can't be postponed?

For instance, the accident happens. Bills-Bengals play 3 1/2 more quarters. If a report comes out he is dead, ok. Game over. Do whatever. Anything else, play on?

I don't know how you get around it otherwise. You can't delay the postseason due to logistical reasons. Because hotels are booked for SB etc. So one week between third round and SB won't work.

Networks nor the league will want huge games like this happening midseason. As a way to make it up if possible. They always want it near the end.

Or, you can postpone MNF. Then, they play the next night.

 

[misterchainsaw]

It isn't a ruling. And why would expect the two teams who had a game cancelled wouldn't be the most affected?

And for the umpteenth time, Cincy and Buffalo benefit by not falling any more than #3 and #2, something that was on the table if they replayed their game.

Either present an alternative that wouldn't penalize the Chiefs more than the Bills/Bengals or stop bellyaching.

And you're still wrong - Buffalo CAN fall to 3. It's actually KC that cannot fall to 3 anymore as a direct result of the game being cancelled.