BLeonard

In most cases, like weather delays, they pick up where they left off. However, we're in uncharted territory here. I'm not aware of a game that was postponed and NOT completed that same day. I recall reading somewhere that the game is to be resumed within two days of it's stoppage. Well, we're past that point now. I would GUESS that, if the game is played, it would start from the point they left off, but that is only my guess. Questions also arise from the gameday rosters. What if a guy on the gameday roster is hurt or released when the game resumes? Can the team name a replacement, or do they essentially play shorthanded? Or, vice versa, if a guy was hurt or not on the team on gameday, but is healthy on the resume date, can he play? Long story short, there really isn't an answer, at least that I'm aware of, that covers this particular situation.

Not to mention, if KC beats the Raiders, the Bengals can't get the #1 seed regardless. Why would they bother playing, knowing they have a playoff opponent coming off of a bye the next week whether they win or lose?

So, if the Chiefs get the #1 seed, they'd get two weeks off (week 19 & 20) and the Bills and Bengals have to play a playoff game the next week, while their opponent had a bye. Seems unfair to the Bills and Bengals, while rewarding every other AFC team. In that scenario it's better for the Bills and Bengals to skip the game altogether. That way, at least their opponents in the playoffs don't get a bye, while the Bills/Bengals game is happening.

As has been stated by others, you're essentially giving every playoff team besides the Bills and Bengals a bye week. That's a pretty sizeabale disadvantage for the Bills and Bengals. Also, if KC were to get the #1 seed, they'd get two weeks off. I'm guessing the Bills and Bengals would rather not play than try to shoehorn in a game while every other playoff team is resting at home.

I mean, I could be wrong, certainly. But, I'm guessing that if they're going to continue from the point the game stopped, they'd have to use the same rosters. Now, if, for whatever reason, they decided to start the game over (which I don't see them doing) the teams would submit new gameday rosters. We're obviously in uncharted territory here, as I don't think a game has ever been suspended and continued at a later date, but this is also the same league that forced Denver to start a WR at quarterback not too long ago, so who knows what they'd do? All that said, I don't think the game is being resumed, regardless. At this point, to do it, you're upending the entire playoff schedule. My guess is the league wants the solution that keeps the original schedule intact as much as possible.

I would assume that the active gameday rosters would be locked in. I mean, there's been talk of Hyde coming back, but if this game is rescheduled, I doubt he'd be allowed to participate, even if healthy and cleared. On that same note, Hubbard for the Bengals wouldn't be allowed to play, either. The unknown here is Taron Johnson. I get that Hamlin's situation is far more serious, but we don't know Johnson's situation, or at least I haven't heard anything. I would guess he WOULD be allowed to play if able, as he was on the gameday roster. Bengals wouldn't get the #2 seed even with a KC loss and a win over Baltimore. KC would be 13-4, while Cincinnati would be 12-4. The only way the Bengals get the #2 in that scenario is if the Bills lose to NE, as the Bengals would win the SOV tiebreaker over the Bills for the #2 seed. If the Bills/Bengals game isn't played, some team, in some form or fashion, will get the short end of the stick. Not saying that it should be played, just saying that, if it isn't, the lack of a game result there is gonna affect a team or two.

I saw it live on the broadcast and it was a bit disturbing, especially with how long Thibodeaux was doing the snow angels. Actually surprised he wasn't penalized for taunting. While I don't disagree about him not knowing at the time of the snow angels, this also happened:

I know most everyone's mind is elsewhere, but just realized that today is the 30th anniversary of the (now former) Greatest Comeback in NFL history against the Oilers.

So, KC gets a bye, the Bills play the Bengals, but both advance to the next round, while 4 plays 7 and 5 plays 6? You'd have KC, BUF, CIN and two other teams in the divisional round. How you gonna have games with 5 teams?

Wouldn't work anyway. 2 byes and 6 tams playing three games gives you 5 teams remaining at the end of the first weekend. Dunno how you go from 5 teams to two for the AFC Championship the following week.

On top of that, if KC ended with the #1 seed, they'd actually get 2 weeks off.

Wouldn't work anyway. Giving two teams a bye means 6 teams play each other, producing 3 winners. That means 5 teams in the divisional round. You'd have another team getting a bye somehow.

Seen a lot of this thought, too. But, here's the thing: You'd have 3 games (6 teams) playing on WC Weekend. Of that, there would be 3 winners. Add in the two bye teams and you have 5 teams. Some team would then have to have another bye, cause you can't have a game with one or three teams. I don't see how adding a team and a bye is a solution.

It's not a bad solution on the face, but without the Bills/Bengals result, the Ravens cant' win the North even if they beat Cincy. Baltimore would be 11-6, while Cincy would be 11-5. On top of that, I highly doubt they cancel the Chiefs/Raiders game, especially since it's the first game Saturday. It's also not meaningless for fans that bought tickets and made plans to attend. Any way you slice it, some team somewhere is gonna get the short end of the stick. I just don't see a way to avoid it. At this point, the easiest way that I'm seeing is to just not play BUF/CIN and play week 18 as scheduled. If KC beats the Raiders, they'd be the #1 based on win %, essentially punishing the Bills. If the Bills win, they'd be the #2, essentially punishing CIN. Baltimore gets a bit of a punishment by not having a chance to win the division, but they're still in the playoffs at least. KC would be rewarded, but every other team involved remains unaffected. Again, really no way to avoid a scenario that is fair to everyone and doesn't affect a number of teams, but at this point, it may be the way to minimize the fallout.

If the Bills/Bengals game isn't played, the Bills are 12-3. Beat the Patriots and they're 13-3. Chiefs lose to the Raiders, they're 13-4. In what world would KC get the 1 seed there? If KC loses to the Raiders, the Bills could even forfeit the Bengals game and still have the tiebreaker on KC.

How? KC would be 13-4 (.765) while the Bills, if they beat NE would be 13-3 (.813). Bills would even have the tiebreaker in the event that the Cincy game would count as a loss.

AFC is a bit more complicated than the NFC, as the AFC has no seeds locked in, while the NFC has two. Here are the teams that can still win each particular seed: AFC 1 - BUF, KC, CIN 2 - BUF, KC, CIN 3 - BUF, KC, CIN, BLT 4 - JAX, TEN 5 - CIN, LAC, BLT 6 - CIN, LAC, BLT 7 - JAX, NE, MIA, PIT If the Bills win on MNF, the Bills and Chiefs can't be the 3 seed and Cincinnati can't be the 1 or 2 seed. If the Bengals win on MNF, the Ravens can't be the 3 seed. NFC 1 - PHI, SF, DAL 2 - PHI, SF, MIN, DAL 3 - SF, MIN 4 - TB 5 - PHI, DAL 6 - NYG 7 - SEA, DET, GB In the NFC, the NY Giants will go to either SF or MIN, while Tampa Bay will host either PHI or DAL in the Wild Card Round.

It won't be Monday Night. There is no MNF the last week of the season.

KC would only need to lose one of its two games, not both. Furthermore, if Denver somehow beats KC on Sunday (don't see it happening, but any given Sunday) the Bills could clinch the #1 seed with a win against Cincy on MNF. Baltimore could still win the AFC North, too, who the Bills have a tiebreaker over, so they could play a factor in final seeding, too.

As others have said, Cincy would get the #1 if all three teams are tied and the Bengals beat the Bills. The easy way to look at it is, if the Bills beat Cincinnati, they clinch no lower than the #2 seed. The game against New England would then be for the #1 seed, regardless of what KC and Cincinnati do. The good news is, even if the Bills lose to Cincinnati, they can still get the #1 seed with a win over NE and losses by KC (@ LV) and Cin (vs BLT) in Week 18. Even a loss by either team would give the Bills the #2 seed.

I can only speak for my experiences in Indianapolis. While I expected (and even gave) some back-and-forth ribbing, I didn't expect to have a few people throwing concession items (one being a half-eaten pretzel) at me after the game ended. I certainly didn't expect to have a fan using the urinal next to me during halftime "accidentally" piss on my lower leg and shoe, either. Both of these happened during and after the 10/20/97 MNF classic that the Bills won 9-6. In fairness, though, I've been to see a few Bills/Colts games in Indy and this one was really the only time I had any issues. Guess I just had some bad luck wearing the wrong colors around the wrong fans on that particular night. I also went to the Browns/Bills "Home" game in Detroit. While obviously not the same as a true road game, we had zero issues with Browns fans there. Very fun back-and-forth was all. In fact, probably the worst behavior we saw was a Bills fan in one of the stores by the stadium very upset that they (a Detroit store) didn't have the Bills gear HE wanted. On his way out, he punched the glass door open and I'm a bit surprised it didn't break. So, long story short, of all the times I've been to Bills games outside of Orchard Park, with the exception of one, everything was pretty much fine.

https://agoodmovietowatch.com/cord-cutting/nfl-network-free-trial/ This was written 10 days ago, so I'm guessing at least one of these would work.

FWIW, they played it before the kickoffs when the Bills "hosted" the Browns in Detroit, too. Guessing it's part of the home "routine," as they played the touchdown song and then the Shout song after each PAT.

The way I understand it is, if the home team has something, they must also provide for the visiting team. But, the visiting team may bring their own equipment to use if they so desire: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/washington-cowboys-benches/fp2c9zeq3jzm1m7m5iqkl6dn2 Which means, the Bills could have brought and used their own canopies, mist fans, etc. Maybe they didn't bring enough? Or thought that Miami would supply them and were surprised when they didn't use theirs, meaning they didn't have to supply for the Bills? I don't know the exact answer, but according to this article, a team seems to be allowed to have whatever they want on their sideline, if they pack their own: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/11/14/dolphins-hard-rock-sun-shade/ "The Vikings staff took numerous steps to help the players fight the heat, placing an emphasis on hydration and administering IV treatment, while installing air-conditioned benches and sun shades." So, if the Vikings could bring their own, why couldn't the Bills? Or, again, did the Bills just not prepare or bring enough?