The NFL was stuck between a rock and a hard place when tasked with how to go about the playoff ramifications of the Cincinnati Bengals-Buffalo Bills no-contest in Week 17. Although the well-thought-out plan will avoid the need to add another playoff team in each conference (as was initially rumored), there are still some tricky scenarios. Specifically, the AFC home-field advantage dynamic is now in flux.
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AFC Playoffs Home-field Advantage Scenarios
With the dominant win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs are now the No. 1 seed and have a first-round bye in the AFC Playoffs. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll have home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
The Bills (12-3) owned the tiebreaker over the Chiefs (14-3) and would have had the chance to secure the No. 1 seed if they had beaten the Bengals and New England Patriots in Week 18. Because of the no-contest, they now cannot catch the Chiefs in the standings. But as long as the Bills beat the Patriots on Sunday, a potential Chiefs-Bills AFC Championship game would be played at a neutral site.
Perhaps nobody was more affected by the Week 17 postponement than the Bengals, who now have a lot to play for in their Week 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens. Although Cincinnati was awarded the AFC North division crown, they don’t have a home game locked in at Paycor Stadium in the first round. If they lose to the Ravens in Week 18, a coin flip would decide who hosts that playoff game.
“It’s opportunities lost for us,” Taylor said, via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We had control and now we don’t. There are positives for a lot of teams and negatives for us.”
All the Bengals need to do to lock in at least one home game in the AFC Playoffs is defeat an injury-riddled Ravens team. Per DraftKings, Cincinnati is currently a 9.5-point favorite on Sunday. If you’re looking to bet the game, DraftKings Sportsbook has an opportunity for new s. All you need to do is bet $5, and you can secure $200 in credits!
