Official: (Bengals) Game will not be resumed this week UPDATE: OFFICIALLY CANCELLED

[Mango]

23 minutes ago, BLeonard said:

Oh, I don't disagree that it's a better solution than shoehorning the game in.  Just kinda sucks that, after all of the focus on getting the #1 seed, it's gone because of this and the one team that both the Bengals and Bills beat head to head is the beneficiary.

 

Thinking about it more, I'm curious why they couldn't use another metric besides winning percentage, since there would be an uneven amount of games played.  Why not strength of victory?  At least that would allow the uneven number of wins to be weighted in an even metric.

 

Another idea that I've seen floated is to split the benefits of the #1 seed between two teams if all three win this weekend.  Give KC the option of either HFA OR the bye.  The Bills would get the other.

 

As I've said in other posts, there's no clean, simple answer and some team (or teams) are gonna get shafted a little here.

 

 

I think all the talk of the one seed was more us the fans than the team. 

There have been complaints on the board all season of McD being "too cautious" with injuries. And the response was consistently "It is better to play an extra game healthy than to get home field banged up". 

 

And here we are. The Bills had a decision to make. Fight for homefield emotionally (and physically) banged up, or enter the playoffs the healthiest version of yourself. 

 

I don't necessarily feel bad for Pittsburgh or Baltimore in this scenario. The Ravens lost their control over the division with a lost to Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh was never in control. KC seems to get  a small benefit and BUF/CIN doesn't feel like a big deal to either team. 

[SoCal Deek]

I’m still in the camp of the Bills either requesting to play the game Week 19 or forfeiting it. 

[Warriorspikes51]

Just now, SoCal Deek said:

I’m still in the camp of the Bills either requesting to play the game Week 19 or forfeiting it. 

The Bills taking an L should not even be on the table for discussion 

[SoCal Deek]

Just now, Warriorspikes51 said:

The Bills taking an L should not even be on the table for discussion 

Then you have to request to play the game. Done.

[BillsFanSD]

5 hours ago, CorkScrewHill said:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/01/04/momentum-builds-for-cancelation-of-bills-bengals-game/
 

per PFT the league is leaning toward no contest with playoff positioning decided by win percentage.

This is one of about a dozen solutions that are perfectly reasonable.  At this point, the league needs to just pick one and be done with it.  This is one of those times when it's much better to make a good-enough decision quickly than make a perfect decision later.  It's stupid and unprofessional to let this hang out there.

[SCBills]

2 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

 

I think all the talk of the one seed was more us the fans than the team. 

There have been complaints on the board all season of McD being "too cautious" with injuries. And the response was consistently "It is better to play an extra game healthy than to get home field banged up". 

 

And here we are. The Bills had a decision to make. Fight for homefield emotionally (and physically) banged up, or enter the playoffs the healthiest version of yourself. 

 

I don't necessarily feel bad for Pittsburgh or Baltimore in this scenario. The Ravens lost their control over the division with a lost to Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh was never in control. KC seems to get  a small benefit and BUF/CIN doesn't feel like a big deal to either team. 

 

"Small benefit"...

 

They literally get the 1 seed = bye and home field throughout.

 

Hardly a small benefit.

[Warriorspikes51]

Just now, SoCal Deek said:

Then you have to request to play the game. Done.

Personally, I don't believe re-living what happened on that same field is something I'd want to subject my players to 

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

5 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I’m still in the camp of the Bills either requesting to play the game Week 19 or forfeiting it. 

Solitary camp

Edited January 5, 2023 by D. L. Hot-Flamethrower

[SoCal Deek]

1 minute ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

Personally, I don't believe re-living what happened on that same field is something I'd want to subject my players to 

I tend to agree. So you do the big thing, and thank the league for their patience in this matter and take the loss. You then use it as a rallying cry (if your team is even able to) for the playoffs. 

[Lost]

4 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

This is one of about a dozen solutions that are perfectly reasonable.  At this point, the league needs to just pick one and be done with it.  This is one of those times when it's much better to make a good-enough decision quickly than make a perfect decision later.  It's stupid and unprofessional to let this hang out there.

 

I think the league is waiting to see if there is any improvement with Damar.   If he were to wake up and start having some normal function and be able to communicate that would be a huge boost the team, the league and everyone involved so much so that it could affect how the teams want to proceed.  

[BillsFanSD]

2 minutes ago, Lost said:

 

I think the league is waiting to see if there is any improvement with Damar.   If he were to wake up and start having some normal function and be able to communicate that would be a huge boost the team, the league and everyone involved so much so that it could affect how the teams want to proceed.  

Maybe, but this is a childish way of doing it.  All of us know or should know that Hamlin's health and the league calendar are completely independent of each other.  There's no good reason to coddle people who don't understand that.

 

(Honestly, the constant need to accommodate the dumbest among us is one of the main sources of my frustration with modern culture).

Edited January 5, 2023 by BillsFanSD

[SCBills]

8 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

Personally, I don't believe re-living what happened on that same field is something I'd want to subject my players to 

 

Depending how everything shakes out, we could be going back there in the Divisional Round.  

 

If we beat NE, that doesn't happen. 

[Dr. Who]

17 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

Then you have to request to play the game. Done.

I think that's an easy enough move, because the logistics don't realistically work and the NFL is probably going to go with no contest regardless. 

[AdamK]

18 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I’m still in the camp of the Bills either requesting to play the game Week 19 or forfeiting.

The Bengals have been a class act throughout this situation.
(For this discussion, I will disregard the questionable hits on Taron and Josh.)

After reviewing all the options, IMO the only one that doesn’t hurt Cincy or disrupt the entire league is a Bills forfeit.
It sucks. It’s the same unlucky BS that I have lived with for my entire 40+ years as a Bills fan, but It’s the right thing to do. 

[SoCal Deek]

1 minute ago, AdamK said:

The Bengals have been a class act throughout this situation.
(For this discussion, I will disregard the questionable hits on Taron and Josh.)

After reviewing all the options, IMO the only one that doesn’t hurt Cincy or disrupt the entire league is a Bills forfeit.
It sucks. It’s the same unlucky BS that I have lived with for my entire 40+ years as a Bills fan, but It’s the right thing to do. 

I obviously agree. Remember, I said the Bills should ‘request’ not ‘demand’. I also think this should all be tabled until after this weekend’s games when the picture will be much clearer. 

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

Someone remind me why we're forfeiting when the league may just declare the game a no contest or give each team a tie?

[Realist]

Personally, I don't think either team wishes to play this game. Both teams just went through a traumatic experience together (obviously worse for the Bills.) I don't know how into it they would be to beat each others brains in a week from now. If they meet in the playoffs, it would be a bit different since they would have a couple of games in between.

[BillsFanSD]

2 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Someone remind me why we're forfeiting when the league may just declare the game a no contest or give each team a tie?

Honestly, who cares?  All three of those alternatives probably result in KC getting the #1 seed.  The only difference is that a loss/forfeit gives us (probably) the #3 seed instead of #2.  That's not that big a deal.  I mean, yeah, it matters, but it shouldn't be a deal-breaker under the circumstances.  

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

2 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

Honestly, who cares?  All three of those alternatives probably result in KC getting the #1 seed.  The only difference is that a loss/forfeit gives us (probably) the #3 seed instead of #2.  That's not that big a deal.  I mean, yeah, it matters, but it shouldn't be a deal-breaker under the circumstances.  

Well I believe the solution being bandied about by Scheffter and others about the 1 an 2 seeds having a choice between a bye and Home field is a real fair possibility.

Edited January 5, 2023 by D. L. Hot-Flamethrower

[BLeonard]

54 minutes ago, Mango said:

I don't necessarily feel bad for Pittsburgh or Baltimore in this scenario. The Ravens lost their control over the division with a lost to Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh was never in control. KC seems to get  a small benefit and BUF/CIN doesn't feel like a big deal to either team. 

The issue Baltimore would have is that, if they beat Cincy on Sunday, they'd have beaten them both times and only have one more loss.  But, the Bengals would be awarded the division based on better winning percentage, despite playing less games.

 

Pittsburgh can still get in.  This only affects their chances if the Bills rest starters vs NE due to not being able to get the 1 seed.  If I had to guess, I'd say the Bills will want to put their best effort forward for Damar and the chance of locking down the 2 seed at minimum.

 

I don't see KC getting the #1 seed as a "small benefit."  They'd be getting a bye AND HFA.  The fact that the Bills and Bengals BOTH beat KC head to head make it an even bigger benefit.

 

Again, there's no 100% fair way to do it, but I'm leaning towards, if KC is getting the 1 seed that way, they should have to choose between having the bye or HFA, not both.

6 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Well I believe the Solution beaing bandied about by Scheffter and others about the 1 an 2 seeds having a choice between a bye and Home field is a real fair possibility.

IMO, this is about as fair as you can make it, without disrupting everything.  If KC beats the Raiders and the Bills beat the Patriots, they'd each have 3 losses.  Due to the extra game, KC would have a higher winning percentage.  So, they get the choice of either HFA or a bye to the divisional round.  The Bills get the other.  The team that got the bye would then have to go on the road if the two teams met in the AFC Championship.  It also helps ensure that all of the games this weekend still have at least some level of importance, so nobody is playing backups.

 

At least, in that situation, KC isn't just being handed the #1 seed and all of the benefits that go with it.

Edited January 5, 2023 by BLeonard

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

6 minutes ago, BLeonard said:

The issue Baltimore would have is that, if they beat Cincy on Sunday, they'd have beaten them both times and only have one more loss.  But, the Bengals would be awarded the division based on better winning percentage, despite playing less games.

 

Pittsburgh can still get in.  This only affects their chances if the Bills rest starters vs NE due to not being able to get the 1 seed.  If I had to guess, I'd say the Bills will want to put their best effort forward for Damar and the chance of locking down the 2 seed at minimum.

 

I don't see KC getting the #1 seed as a "small benefit."  They'd be getting a bye AND HFA.  The fact that the Bills and Bengals BOTH beat KC head to head make it an even bigger benefit.

 

Again, there's no 100% fair way to do it, but I'm leaning towards, if KC is getting the 1 seed that way, they should have to choose between having the bye or HFA, not both.

IMO, this is about as fair as you can make it, without disrupting everything.  If KC beats the Raiders and the Bills beat the Patriots, they'd each have 3 losses.  Due to the extra game, KC would have a higher winning percentage.  So, they get the choice of either HFA or a bye to the divisional round.  The Bills get the other.  The team that got the bye would then have to go on the road if the two teams met in the AFC Championship.

 

At least, in that situation, KC isn't just being handed the #1 seed and all of the benefits that go with it.

Yes, and if both the Chiefs and Bills lose the Bengals would still have a chance for the top 2 spots.

[BLeonard]

22 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Yes, and if both the Chiefs and Bills lose the Bengals would still have a chance for the top 2 spots.

They'd also have a chance to lose the AFC North to the Ravens.  The Bills/Bengals game not being played essentialy hands the division to the Bengals.

 

I get that no solution is gonna be victim proof here.  That can't be avoided.  A couple teams are gonna get a bit burned here.  What CAN be done is to split the benefits of the 1 seed in half to balance things a bit.

 

If the Bills and Chiefs win, KC would then get the choice of a bye or HFA.  The Bills get the other.

 

If the Bills and Chiefs lose, while the Bengals win, you could again split the HFA and bye between KC and Cincy.

 

If the Bills and Bengals win, while the Chiefs lose, the Bills get the 1, while you could have KC choose between having the 2 or 3 seed, based on the matchup, or having HFA if the Chiefs and Bengals meet in the divisional round.

 

Again, at least every team would have something to play for, while not weighing one seed over the other as dramatically as it would be normally.

Edited January 5, 2023 by BLeonard

[Just Jack]

My thought, depending on how the games end this weekend, that if it turns out the Bills or Bengals could get the 1 seed if the game was completed, give them the choice to play or take the seed they have at the conclusion of the week 18 games. 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Just Jack

[SoCal Deek]

1 minute ago, Just Jack said:

My thought, depending on how the games end this weekend, that if it turns out the Bills or Bengals could get the 1 seed if the game was completed, give them the choice to play or take the seed they have at the conclusion of the week 18 games. 

Bingo! 

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, BillsFanSD said:

This is one of about a dozen solutions that are perfectly reasonable.  At this point, the league needs to just pick one and be done with it.  This is one of those times when it's much better to make a good-enough decision quickly than make a perfect decision later.  It's stupid and unprofessional to let this hang out there.

 

Terrible - the league should not rush a decision when there is no need.  
 

They are in contact with the Bills and Bengals and are looking at options, but until they have some indication of the Hamlin outcome as we are starting to hear - they need to wait.

 

What happens if they made a decision and then Hamlin had gotten worse and the Bills and Bengals didn’t or could play this weekend - now they have to go back and make adjustments and everyone gives them crap.

 

Give it time - the info will come out - the league has handled this very well so far - let them continue.

 

This is not a time to rush a decision- as news comes out - it will impact the Bills and Bengals mental outlook and will impact what they are willing and able to do.  
 

Getting a decision out impacts nothing for the league at the moment as they are working many different angles - it might make you feel better, but it is not impacting the league.  
 

With todays info you will probably get follow-up later today or tomorrow on the plan.

 

 

[BillsFanSD]

13 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

Terrible - the league should not rush a decision when there is no need.  
 

They are in contact with the Bills and Bengals and are looking at options, but until they have some indication of the Hamlin outcome as we are starting to hear - they need to wait.

What happens if they made a decision and then Hamlin had gotten worse and the Bills and Bengals didn’t or could play this weekend - now they have to go back and make adjustments and everyone gives them crap.

Well, there's no (good) reason why the Bills shouldn't play this weekend.  Sean Taylor, etc.  I'm admittedly dismissing this possibility out of hand, as I think everyone should.

Quote

Getting a decision out impacts nothing for the league at the moment as they are working many different angles - it might make you feel better, but it is not impacting the league.  
 

With todays info you will probably get follow-up later today or tomorrow on the plan.

Today is fine.  Dragging it out absolutely does impact the league -- the NFL's decision has a direct and immediate effect on the Bills, Bengals, and Chiefs, and it has various indirect effects on the Ravens, Dolphins, Patriots, and maybe the Jaguars but they probably truck Tennessee this weekend anyway and it won't matter for them.  And maybe the Steelers, possibly.  It's not an exaggeration to say that it affects the entire AFC playoff bracket, which kicks off in 9 days.  But yeah a decision today is totally okay.  I was criticizing a post about waiting to make a decision until after week 18 is played out, which is what I'm objecting to.   

 

[Motorin']

8 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

Well, there's no (good) reason why the Bills shouldn't play this weekend.  Sean Taylor, etc.  I'm admittedly dismissing this possibility out of hand, as I think everyone should.

 

 

I don't understand why you think this is for you to say. If we hear that from the Bills, great. But we haven't heard from them. This kind of sentiment about how the Bills should or shouldn't respond is misguided. 

[LyndonvilleBill]

The more I think about it, I think a decision needs to be made prior to the Saturday games as to a winner. The game should not be played/resumed. I also think that how that decision is made should be between the Bills and the Bengals. I think Taylor and McDermott have shown the leadership and decision making skills that should allow this. I also don't think KC should have any choice in the matter as it's between the Bills and the Bengals as that's who was to play the game. Goodell should just go to them and say, I don't care how you do it, game of tiddlywinks, checkers, cornhole or a coin flip. Whatever you guys decide it's up to you, but, you have until 4pm on Saturday to provide the results or you both get an L.

[LabattBlue]

47 minutes ago, Just Jack said:

My thought, depending on how the games end this weekend, that if it turns out the Bills or Bengals could get the 1 seed if the game was completed, give them the choice to play or take the seed they have at the conclusion of the week 18 games. 

What if one teams chooses to play and the other doesn’t?

[Motorin']

4 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

What if one teams chooses to play and the other doesn’t?

 

The Bengals have said they chose not to play Monday night, and they chose what ever the Bills want to do. Unless we hear the Bills say they want to play the Bengals, I don't see that being a reality. 

[BillsFanSD]

20 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

I don't understand why you think this is for you to say. If we hear that from the Bills, great. But we haven't heard from them. This kind of sentiment about how the Bills should or shouldn't respond is misguided. 

I was talking about the Patriots game, not the Bengals game.  Sorry about that -- I should have clarified since this is still the "Bengals game" thread.

[Motorin']

1 minute ago, BillsFanSD said:

I was talking about the Patriots game, not the Bengals game.  Sorry about that -- I should have clarified since this is still the "Bengals game" thread.

 

 I realized that. 

[BillsFanSD]

2 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

 

 I realized that. 

Oh.  Well, in that case, the decision probably isn't going to left up to the Bills, nor should it be IMO.  There are too many other teams affected, and everybody's had a reasonable chance to compose themselves.  I'm just some random guy on a message board, but I would expect to take a forfeit if we didn't play this weekend for some reason.

[Paul Costa]

2 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

Personally, I don't believe re-living what happened on that same field is something I'd want to subject my players to 

This was kinda my point by resuming the game as opposed to starting the game over. By resuming the game they are spotting the ball where DH had his issue. That would bring up PTSD to many players especially Tee Higgins who it sounds like is struggling with this mightily. By simply starting from scratch we wouldn’t specifically go right back to the scene to start the game

[LabattBlue]

2 minutes ago, Paul Costa said:

This was kinda my point by resuming the game as opposed to starting the game over. By resuming the game they are spotting the ball where DH had his issue. That would bring up PTSD to many players especially Tee Higgins who it sounds like is struggling with this mightily. By simply starting from scratch we wouldn’t specifically go right back to the scene to start the game

…or just a Bills fan trying to wipe out a 4 point deficit, and the Bengals with the ball at midfield versus starting the game all over again. 

[Heavy Kevi]

15 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

Oh.  Well, in that case, the decision probably isn't going to left up to the Bills, nor should it be IMO.  There are too many other teams affected, and everybody's had a reasonable chance to compose themselves.  I'm just some random guy on a message board, but I would expect to take a forfeit if we didn't play this weekend for some reason.

 

Yeah I think that's not unreasonable.

 

Im surprised there's a multi page thread about what happens if the bills don't want to play this Sunday.

 

Obviously it's a forfeit. And barring "bad news" about Damar at this point, nothing else would make sense.

 

But I expect they will be ready to play, and fired up in a big way. Theres a reason pats fans want them to take another week off. Personally I don't think it matters from a purely football perspective. If they were to forfeit this weekend, they let the pats in to the playoffs, and they are not good enough to compete just like last year. Same story with Steelers and fins. Nobody is scared of any 3 of those teams right now. It's not as if they are the Packers with hof rodg getting hot at the right time.

 

But if the Bengals game gets scheduled to be finished, and they know so before Sunday... Good luck pats

13 minutes ago, Paul Costa said:

This was kinda my point by resuming the game as opposed to starting the game over. By resuming the game they are spotting the ball where DH had his issue. That would bring up PTSD to many players especially Tee Higgins who it sounds like is struggling with this mightily. By simply starting from scratch we wouldn’t specifically go right back to the scene to start the game

 

No chance. From a competitive standpoint, it's just plain not fair to Cincy, especially given their gracious response on Monday and not forcing the Bills to forfeit in that moment.

[Low Positive]

5 minutes ago, Heavy Kevi said:

 

Yeah I think that's not unreasonable.

 

Im surprised there's a multi page thread about what happens if the bills don't want to play this Sunday.

 

Obviously it's a forfeit. And barring "bad news" about Damar at this point, nothing else would make sense.

 

But I expect they will be ready to play, and fired up in a big way. Theres a reason pats fans want them to take another week off. Personally I don't think it matters from a purely football perspective. If they were to forfeit this weekend, they let the pats in to the playoffs, and they are not good enough to compete just like last year. Same story with Steelers and fins. Nobody is scared of any 3 of those teams right now. It's not as if they are the Packers with hof rodg getting hot at the right time.

 

But if the Bengals game gets scheduled to be finished, and they know so before Sunday... Good luck pats

 

No chance. From a competitive standpoint, it's just plain not fair to Cincy, especially given their gracious response on Monday and not forcing the Bills to forfeit in that moment.

If they do replay the game, what they could do to lessen any unfairness to the Bengals and to avoid the situation that @Paul Costa brings up above is to start the game from the kickoff after the Bills FG. But it is all probably a hypothetical discussion.

[YoloinOhio]

1 hour ago, Just Jack said:

My thought, depending on how the games end this weekend, that if it turns out the Bills or Bengals could get the 1 seed if the game was completed, give them the choice to play or take the seed they have at the conclusion of the week 18 games. 

Choosing to play is one thing - having a a realistic way to actually to do that is another 

[Dablitzkrieg]

 

 

 

[YoloinOhio]

And the Bengals officially win the afc north