Playoff scenarios: If Ravens beat Bengals, and teams play in Wild Card game, coin toss determines homefield
BALTIMORE - With the NFL canceling the Buffalo vs. Cincinnati game, it creates potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios.
The Ravens are one of those teams still in limbo.
Baltimore (10-6) plays at AFC North leader Cincinnati (11-4) at 1 p.m. on Sunday, televised on WJZ. The Ravens won the first meeting, 19-17, on Oct. 9 in Baltimore.
As part of the solution, if the Ravens beat the Bengals on Sunday and both teams meet in the Wild Card round as 3 and 6 seeds, homefield will be determined by a coin toss.
The Bills-Bengals game was canceled last Monday after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field and needed to be resuscitated.
Doctors said Hamlin is progressing but is still critically ill.
Buffalo hosts New England at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The playoffs will start on Saturday, Jan. 14.
The NFL will consider the proposals on Friday in a Special League Meeting.
Among the key factors in arriving at this decision:
- Not playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion will have no effect on which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the postseason and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of this game.
- It would require postponing the start of the playoffs for one week, thereby affecting all 14 clubs that qualify for postseason play.
- Making the decision prior to Week 18 is consistent with our competitive principles and enables all clubs to know the playoff possibilities prior to playing the final weekend of regular season games.
Here are the scenarios and how it impacts the Ravens:
- If Baltimore defeats Cincinnati in Week 18, it will have defeated Cincinnati, a divisional opponent, twice but will not be able to host a playoff game because Cincinnati will have a higher winning percentage for a 16-game schedule than Baltimore will for a 17-game schedule.
- If Baltimore defeats Cincinnati and if those two clubs are scheduled to play a Wild Card game against one another, the site for that game would be determined by a coin toss.
- If Cincinnati wins the Week 18 game or if Baltimore and Cincinnati are not scheduled to play one another in the Wild Card round, the game sites would be determined by the regular scheduling procedures.
Other playoff scenarios:
- Buffalo and Kansas City both win or both tie – a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site.
- Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore wins or ties – a Buffalo vs Kansas City championship game would be at a neutral site
The NFL said among the key factors in arriving at this decision:
- Not playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion will have no effect on which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the postseason and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of this game.
- It would require postponing the start of the playoffs for one week, thereby affecting all 14 clubs that qualify for postseason play.
- Making the decision prior to Week 18 is consistent with our competitive principles and enables all clubs to know the playoff possibilities prior to playing the final weekend of regular season games.
