Quote:
Originally Posted by dsvitak
Doesn't this eff up the playoffs?
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Best I can tell, if they simply cancelled the game and played the week 18 games - including Patriots at Bills and Ravens at Bengals - as scheduled, it would only have an effect on playoff seeding. For the #1 seed, the Chiefs' path gets a little easier (they would now control their own destiny), the BilIs' path gets a bit harder (they would no longer control their own destiny), and the Bengals somewhat longshot path disappears... With a cancellation, the Ravens would no longer have a path (Bengals lose to Bills, Ravens beat Bengals) to the AFC North title; the Bengals would clinch, making the Bengals/Ravens week 18 clash meaningless (well, it could affect whether Baltimore gets the 5 or 6 seed).
It also could affect the Patriots. Whether they would've and still might play a Bills team that is resting players or fighting for a win is still not known; both possibilities still exist although the likelihood has probably changed (if KC beats LV on Saturday, the Bills may or may not be playing to win on Sunday*). And that could affect the Dolphins (who need the Pats to lose), and also the Steelers and Jags (who need the Pats to lose and other things to happen).
*Last night's game would've decided any tiebreaker scenarios between Bills & Bengals for the #2 seed. Now, it's possible they would tie on W/L, also be tied on conference record, and then it would go to best record in common games... I haven't looked that up...
I could be wrong on some of that... Just my take after a quick review of standings & scenarios...
As far as rescheduling the Bills/Bengals game, with a resumption of it this week (understandably) off the table, I don't see how they fit that in without pushing the entire playoff schedule back one week, which would seem to be too monumental of an endeavor, considering TV playoff schedules...
Rather, the NFL will probably just say that due to the unprecedented nature of the events in last night's game, and in consultation with the Bills, Bengals, and player's association, they've determined that the best course of actions is to cancel the game and that, essentially, any advantages or disadvantages to playoff scenarios are what they are... and they'll point out that no team is in danger of missing the playoffs with the cancellation; it can only affect seeding. Also, from both a practical and - more-important - a human standpoint, I'm sure both the Bengals and Bills would rather move forward towards towards the playoffs, rather than revisit everything (emotions, media circus, etc.) surrounding last night's game.