Any potential AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs would be played at a neutral site following the Bills' 35-23 win over the Patriots on Sunday.
The Bengals' 27-16 win over the Ravens on Sunday also negated a scenario in which a coin toss would decide home-field advantage in a Baltimore-Cincinnati wild-card matchup, which would have been in play if the Ravens won and the Chargers beat the Broncos. The third-seeded Bengals will host the sixth-seeded Ravens during Super Wild Card Weekend.
The decision to potentially play the title game at a neutral site followed the NFL's announcement on Thursday that the Week 17 game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals would be canceled. The game had initially been postponed after Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during the game.
国产外流网owners on Friday approved a resolution to potentially adjust the AFC playoffs in the case of there being a matchup between teams whose records were affected by the cancellation.
The resolution included the provision that if both Buffalo and Kansas City won in Week 18 and both teams then advanced to the AFC championship, then the title game would be played at a neutral site to avoid any competitive inequities based on the differing number of games each club played affecting their ability to clinch home-field advantage.
The Chiefs (14-3) clinched the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye on Saturday. The Bills (13-3) secured the conference's No. 2 seed with their win over New England.
The 国产外流网has not yet announced which stadium would be chosen as the neutral site in the case it is needed.
Buffalo announced on Saturday that Hamlin remains in critical condition, but is making continued progress, per physicians at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where Hamlin has been under care since Monday night. The defensive back "continues to breathe on his own and his neurological function is excellent," and on Friday he virtually addressed the team during a meeting.
