With the start of the playoffs looming, time is ticking for the NFL to resolve the issue of Monday night’s Bills–Bengals game postponement. On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter offered a suggestion on a couple of ways the situation could be handled.
As of now, Schefter does not believe the game will be replayed, citing the “bad mojo” surrounding Monday night and the desire to move forward—particularly now that doctors “feel encouraged” about Damar Hamlin’s status in the days following his on-field collapse. He also said there are “many ideas” that the league is considering, but highlighted two in particular that the NFL could move forward with.
Schefter’s first suggestion came from his ESPN colleague, Matthew Hasselbeck, who suggested that the result of Monday’s game be officially recorded as a tie, and that whichever team ends up with the No. 1 seed be offered a choice for the postseason.
“You call the Bengals–Bills a tie. The No. 1 seed gets the choice of home field [advantage] throughout the playoffs or the bye. The No. 2 seed gets whatever isn’t chosen, so either a bye or home field advantage,” Schefter said. “That would be one scenario that I believe the league has talked about.”
The second suggestion is perhaps a bit more radical, though one that Schefter said is “more viable” than the previous one. He believes that, should the AFC championship game involve teams that would be impacted by Monday night’s game being ruled a tie—meaning the Bills, Bengals and Chiefs—that the game could be held on a neutral field.
Schefter’s report comes a day after the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport called the possibility of the league replaying Monday night’s game “unlikely,” and also said the more probable outcome was to declare the game a tie or no contest.
