SCBills

No. No we are not. Chiefs are gifted a bye if they win Saturday.

No, I’m strictly speaking about the Bengals/Ravens scenario. Why a coin flip when the Ravens can’t overtake them on win percentage? Sure Ravens would have swept them. Bills beat Chiefs. Doesn’t mean we get a coin flip over the bye.

The Bengals/Ravens scenario is utter garbage. KC gets the 1 seed if they win on Saturday based on win percentage. Why is it the Bengals who don’t get win percentage factored in?

Perhaps .. Also should be noted that the NFL may have called it regardless.. analysts, players and fans were all over social media openly demanding the game be shut down. There wasn’t exactly much of a public appetite to play that game.

I’d think it’s pretty important. If KC wins, we have two home games and then a neutral field game against KC / home game vs anyone else. If KC loses, we are the 1 seed. Either way, it certainly serves a purpose.

“Larger than life” What. A. Line. McDermott just caught me right there .. legit tears.

This seems the most fair of all the options. Sure, I'm guessing KC still gets the 1 seed if they go by winning percentages, but to give both home field AND the bye to a team that received it based on a traumatic event causing a game to be canceled is far too much of a gift in a league based on performance based results.

Lets gooooo!!!!!!

Depending how everything shakes out, we could be going back there in the Divisional Round. If we beat NE, that doesn't happen.

"Small benefit"... They literally get the 1 seed = bye and home field throughout. Hardly a small benefit.

I agree it’s likely the Bills & Bengals could not have much of an appetite for playing this game in a Week 19 while everyone else is off. Im fine with it too. I do think there is value in getting the two seed, and two home games. Especially given the fact it seems likely the Divisional Round will be either Bengals at Bills or Bills at Bengals. If it was ANYONE other than the Chiefs, and “never played a road playoff game Mahomes”, the team benefitting off this tragedy would be much easier to swallow.

Of course there can be … but you can’t let it consume you.

Speaking of that .. if they don't play Sunday, .. and this is just my personal view .. I’d really start to get worried about their mental health as a collective and how they’re choosing to respond to this tragedy.

Bulldog took issue with someone saying this as we shouldn’t assume what someone would want… but anyone who’s ever played team sports at a competitive level knows EXACTLY how they’d want their teammates to respond..

I don’t care what award he gets, but there needs to be some recognition for him .. even if it’s just from the fanbase. The level of respect and admiration I have for him and how he leads could not be any higher.

NFL players chose the profession they are in and are compensated far better than most emergency workers and armed forces. What happened was incredibly traumatic, but every other team is going out there and playing. Dawson Knox had to come back and play after his brother died. Life doesn’t just stop. At a certain point, if you don’t push forward, you simply let the event consume you, and that isn’t healthy. Nor would it be fair to the rest of the league. ..the rest of the players who were also faced with their own mortality that night, albeit not to the extent of the Bengals and especially Bills. I won’t criticize anyone who doesn’t play. But this is their job. They don’t need to do this job. They can find another profession if this is no longer what they are willing to risk. The Bills should 100% be forced to forfeit if they don’t play. And that’s their decision. I can tell you that that decision would start to chip away at some of the good will. People stop feeling sorry for people who come across and being unwilling to not feel sorry for themselves… especially when it affects others who take the same risks. It sounds callous.. but it’s life. And I’m supportive of anyone who can’t play and/or wants to find a new line of work. But this is the job… The right decision was made Monday Night.. but they have to move forward now.

Monday absolutely should not have been played. If anyone believes that, they need to take a step back. Bills should play Sunday. Maybe it’s not pretty. Maybe some sit out. But they should play. In my mind, as a competitor, I’m honoring Damar Hamlin by doing so. I get that others have different views, and there’s probably different views on each team (as Burrow even alluded to)… but this is their chosen profession. It doesn’t mean they need to continue in this profession. I wouldn’t judge anyone if they choose to step away from this profession.

New England gets a W. We forfeit and take an L. Probably lose some of the good will around the country.. not that anyone here should care, but I’m just being real about it.

Any player that doesn’t want to play, shouldn’t have to play - I’m sure McDermott and co. would absolutely honor that .. but at a certain point, you have to decide if this is a profession you want to continue moving forward in. The league can’t go on hold for us. It was a freak accident that hopefully will never happen again on a football field for the rest of our lives. Much of the game is mental .. you’ve got to figure out how to move forward, and if you can’t.. what’s the timeline and/or is there one for you? A lot of players have probably asked themselves that question this week.

They can tell them they need to play, but if the teams push back, the NFL better tread lightly. … and even if they do play, the level of potential gamesmanship with potential scenarios in play would be off the charts … wouldn’t be surprised if they said ok, and one (or both) played backups most of the game. It’s the only way to get the game in. It’s also a brutal situation to put these two teams in.

Gross. So if KC wins, Cinci knows they are only playing for seeding and have to play a team coming off a bye the following week. Buffalo has to play knowing if they go all out and lose, they then also play a team coming off a bye the following week. Both teams operating off the knowledge that this game that already puts them at a disadvantage, is against a team they may see again in two weeks.

Week 19 Bengals/Bills AFC Playoff Bye Week …what am I missing? Who’s getting a bye? What are we playing the Bengals for then?

I never took into account the active roster element. You can't keep remnants of the old game if both teams set new rosters... and you have to let teams set new rosters, no? If we play, I'm now thinking it's got to be a new game, 0-0, new active rosters.

Harrison Phillips picked up the dinner tab for Damar Hamlin's family, the Bills training staff and the doctors/nurses at the hospital. Everyone who becomes part of this organization, whether here or moving on elsewhere, just seems to "get it". A testament to the organization, the culture and the type of people they bring in.