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The AFC Bills-Bengals game was put on hold Monday night when Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field. The NFL stated on Thursday that the game would not resume since Hamlin suffered an on-field cardiac arrest against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17.
After the cancelation of the game, the NFL approved another plan on Friday for a possible neutral-site AFC Championship game. That venue has since been zeroed in on as the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
However, the game will be played in Atlanta only given certain conditions are fulfilled.
Firstly, if the two teams participating in the championship game played a different number of regular season games. Secondly, if the team playing in the championship game could have been the No.1 seed, and if all the AFC teams played 17 games in the regular season.
These conditions will also only apply if the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, or Cincinnati Bengals reach the Finals. It applies to these three teams because they had a chance to be the No. 1 seed while entering Week 17.
In Week 17, Kansas City Chiefs won their game, while the matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals was canceled. The Bills and Bengals are the only teams to play 16 games in the 2022 regular season.
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Different Scenarios in Week 18 that could lead the league to have a neutral-site AFC Championship game?
There are three scenarios that could occur in Week 18, which could lead to the Championship game being played in Atlanta
- If the Buffalo Bills win or tie against the Patriots in Week 18 and the Chiefs win or tie while playing against the Raiders. Then the Kansas City Chiefs would hold a record of 14-3 or 13-3-1 and would clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Bills will land the No. 2 spot with a 13-3 or a 12-3-1 record.
- If the Bills and the Chiefs both lose their week 18 games, and the Cincinnati Bengals loses or ties the game against the Ravens. If that happens, the Chiefs would again land the No.1 seed with a 13-4 record. Second spot will go to the Bills (12-4) and Cincinnati would be third with 11-5 or 11-4-1 record.
- If the Bills and Chiefs lose in their week 18 game and the Bengals win against the Ravens. Then the Chiefs (13-4) would be No. 1 seed, Bengals (12-4) would move up to No. 2, and the Bills (12-4) would be No. 3 seed.
The conclusion is that if the Kansas City Chiefs are the No. 1 seed and they face the Bills/Bengals in the AFC Divisional matchup, then the game will be played in Atlanta.
If the Bills and Bengals play, the game will take place in the higher-seeded team's stadium.
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