"It's in the rulebook" - Bengals HC Zac Taylor upset about losing potential home playoff game to coin toss
With the official cancelation of Monday night's game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, came some questions in regards to the AFC playoff seeding. On Thursday, the National Football League announced a revised plan for the final week of the 2022 regular season.
If the game had been played in its entirety on Monday night and Buffalo had defeated Cincinnati, then they would have been the number one seed. If the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Las Vegas Raiders, it will make them the number one seed in the AFC.
If the Cincinnati Bengals end up playing the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round, then a coin toss could determine the location of where the game will be played. The league has also decided that if Cincinnati and Buffalo meet in the title game, then they could possibly play at a neutral site.
The Cincinnati Bengals head coach has said that he is not happy with the way that the National Football League has decided to work out the seeding situation.
According to Bengals beat reporter Kelsey Conway, Taylor referenced the rulebook, which says that if a canceled game occurs, then the seeding should be based on the winning percentage. Taylor said that it clearly states in the rule book that this is what should happen and those rules should be followed.
"It's black and white, it's in the rule book."-Zac Taylor
Zac Taylor on the playoff scenarios: What's in front of us is to win this weekend. From what I'm concerned, we just want the rules to be followed.
Bengals not happy NFL changing the rules and not going by winning percentage.
"It's black and white, it's in the rule book."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the rules committee have both approved these new rules for the AFC seeding. The NFL owners are meeting on Friday and will have to approve this as well. Hence, teams and fans will have to wait and see if this is how the playoff scenario will play out.
Bengals win AFC North title after MNF game cancelled
The Cincinnati Bengals are kings of the AFC North for the second consecutive season. But it didn't happen in a way that anyone would have imagined. On Thursday afternoon, when the National Football League officially canceled the Monday Night Football game between Cincinnati and Buffalo, also came the news that they were the title winners.
The Bengals have won the AFC North 🐅 https://t.co/5NzmdJiuLr
This is the first time in franchise history that Cincinnati has won back-to-back division titles. If Cincinnati loses to Baltimore on Sunday afternoon, then the likely matchup between the two in the Wild Card round will still need to be decided. Although Cincinnati currently has a better winning percentage and the division title.