NFL to hold meeting to decide AFC playoff fate, ‘neutral sites’ on the table

NFL to hold meeting to decide AFC playoff fate, ‘neutral sites’ on the table:

(Update: 1/6, 1:16 p.m.): According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the adjustments to the postseason have been approved:

Previous coverage: 

The NFL is set to make another unprecedented decision regarding the future of games in the AFC.

It was reported earlier on Thursday that the league was set to declare the Buffalo Bills’ Week 17 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals a “no contest.”

Hours later, that motion was approved by the league.

The game will go down as never being played and both teams will finish the 2022 regular season with one less game played than the rest of the NFL.

The next one up is set to come on Friday and it relates to an obvious question: What do they do about the playoffs?

The Bills, Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs all had plenty riding on the outcome of the game that… never was. Namely, the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Essentially, the NFL owners and competition committee are meeting on Friday to discuss a plan of action that boils to a “we’ll see approach.”

Week 18 outcomes will come into effect potentially, so the Bills do still have plenty to play for against the New England Patriots on Sunday. The plan of action may very well end up being… let’s see who makes it to the AFC Championship.

And in certain scenarios, involving the Bills, Chiefs, and Bengals, that title game could end up being played at a neutral sight due to the cancellation of Monday’s contest due to Damar Hamlin’s hospitalization following his cardiac arrest.

ESPN’s Field Yates broke it down in a digestible format:

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