NFL Explains Why It Decided to Cancel Bills-Bengals With Playoffs Looming

The anticipated contest had been previously postponed in the wake of Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s frightening collapse during the game.

The NFL has disclosed a list of factors that contributed to Thursday’s decision to cancel the postponed Week 17 matchup between the Bills and Bengals.

The highly-anticipated Monday Night Football matchup was unexpectedly stopped after Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed in the first quarter and went into cardiac arrest. The contest was temporarily suspended following Hamlin’s medical emergency before getting postponed, and officially canceled three days later.

In regards to the reasoning, the league considered the following three factors before ultimately making the call not to resume the game:

• “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.”

Hamlin, 24, has remained hospitalized in critical condition since Monday but has displayed signs of progress in his recovery. Earlier Thursday, Buffalo released a statement announcing Hamlin has shown “remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours” and appears to be “neurologically intact,” signifying an encouraging step forward for the second-year pro.

Hamlin’s health has expectedly taken precedent in the days since but, as the NFL continues to navigate the aftermath of the Monday’s medical emergency, the uncertainty surrounding how the game and rest of the season would be handled appears to be inching closer to a clear resolution.

Although the canceled MNF game wouldn’t have altered which teams made the postseason, the outcome still carried weight atop the AFC playoff picture in terms of seeding. The Bills (12–3) entered MNF looking to keep pace with the Chiefs (13–3) in the race to claim the AFC’s No. 1 seed while the Bengals (11–4) sought to gain a decisive edge over the Ravens (10–6) with a win that would’ve secured the AFC North.

With the decision to not resume Bills vs. Bengals now final, the NFL also announced Cincinnati will now reportedly be recognized as AFC North champions based on having a higher winning percentage than Baltimore. The rivals and playoff-bound clubs are set to close out the regular season at Paycor Stadium on Sunday afternoon.