Getty Image / Scott Winters
With the NFL suspending play in Monday night’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills, many around the football world are wondering if and when the game would be continued.
The league has already revealed that they won’t be changing the schedule for Week 18, but there still hasn’t been an indication of how they might get the game finished.
It’s something the league will need to address as the game has major implications for the playoff seeding in the AFC.
As it stands, the Bills, Bengals, and Kansas City Chiefs all have a chance to claim the top spot in the conference. With a Chiefs win this weekend, the Bengals would no longer have that chance, but the Bills would still be able to claim that spot. The Bengals would still have a shot at the 2nd spot with a win over the Ravens.
With the major implications of this matchup, it appears the league has come up with an idea for how to fit it into the schedule.
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the league is considering having the Bengals and Bills face off next week while the rest of the AFC has a bye. The NFC would play the first round of the playoffs that week. Then the AFC would play the first round the following week while the NFC has a bye.
.@ProFootballTalk says on @937theFan he got wind from high level NFL people that the following NFL schedule could happen:
Week 19
Bengals/Bills
NFC wild card playoffs
AFC playoff bye weekWeek 20
AFC wild card playoffs
NFC playoff bye week— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 4, 2023
It certainly isn’t ideal as it would put the Bills and Bengals at a disadvantage with at least one of them not getting a bye during the playoffs and the NFC would get rest closer to the Super Bowl.
However, the NFL needs to figure something out to make sure these two teams get a chance to get the seed they’ve earned in the playoffs.
This just might be the best way for them to do that.