NFL Scraps Bills-Bengals Game, Plans to Limit Playoff Chaos
- Team owners on Friday approved the league’s proposals
- AFC title game may be played at neutral site in some scenarios
Fans hold a candlelight vigil for Damar Hamlin at University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Jan. 3.
Photographer: Jeff Dean/Getty Images
The National Football League canceled the game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals that was postponed after a harrowing injury to Damar Hamlin, and devised a plan to avert chaos in its fast-approaching playoffs.
The league decided to scrap the game because it won’t affect which teams qualify for the post-season and because doing so before the final week of the regular season allows for transparency around playoff scenarios, the NFL said in a statement late Thursday. At the same time, the league acknowledged that scrapping the game “creates potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios.”