The Cincinnati Bengals appeared to get the short end of the stick on the NFL’s proposed solution to handling AFC playoff seeding.
Bengals players, Bengals fans and general onlookers were a little taken aback when the league announced the proposals, to say the least.
To keep it succinct, the postponed Week 17 game between the Bills and Bengals goes down as a no-contest. That makes the Bengals AFC North champions. But the league proposes that if the Bengals lose to the Ravens in Week 18 and that sets up a Bengals-Ravens rematch in the playoffs, a coin flip will determine which team hosts the playoff game.
Meaning, the Bengals get the harder schedule next year and a worse draft pick for being divisional champs, but aren’t guaranteed home-field advantage. It’s also a change of rules mid-season, which never occurs.
We’ll see if the proposal passes, but the reactions were overwhelmingly negative regarding how they impact the Bengals.