Bills, Bengals, Chiefs NFL Playoff Plan? Let's Wait on Facts, Not 'Educated Guesses'

As starving as we all are for information on the Bills' Damar Hamlin and football-related matters as well, we should hunger for facts, and not an assortment of "reports'' that actually take the tone of "educated guessing.''

While the health of Damar Hamlin remains a primary concern, there is a great deal of tension and a great deal of anxiety surrounding how the NFL will solve its scheduling problem arising from the postponement of the Week 17 game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.

There is also, unfortunately, a great deal of media guesswork.

ProFootballTalk.com reports, "Current momentum is pointing toward not resuming the Bills-Bengals game, and declaring it a no contest. Playoff seeding then would be determined based on the outcome of the Week 18 games.''

Amid a host of unfortunate and even "unfair'' options, that seems a viable one. It would means that the Kansas City Chiefs would win the No. 1 seed by beating the underdog Raiders on Saturday. ... leaving a gap for the Bills to become the top seed only if the Chiefs lose while Buffalo beats the Patriots on Sunday.

Using this formula, a Bills loss paired with a Bengals win over the Ravens on Sunday would push Cincinnati up to the No. 2 seed.

Writes PFT of the NFL's decision: "It’s pointing in that direction.''

Oddly, though, this report comes just hours after PFT also reported that the idea of pushing back Bills-Bengals into playoff time "is an idea that could be getting some traction.''

So ... cancelling the game altogether is an idea "gaining momentum.''

But also ... playing the game on Wild Card Weekend is "getting traction.''

And one more from PFT, which juiced up NFL executive Troy Vincent's comments saying that the league hasn't discussed yet a possible postponement into a more dramatic headline that reads, "Troy Vincent doesn’t rule out postponement of Patriots-Bills game.''

That is technically true. But it "hasn't been ruled out'' because it "hasn't been discussed'' is the defining point that deserves clarity, especially when Vincent was careful to say it exactly this way ...

“We have not had that discussion,” Vincent said regarding the possibility of postponing the game. “It’s really important that we just keep the pulse of the coach and the players, and don’t get in front of that. ..."

Vincent spoke emotionally about prioritizing the health of Hamlin, who remains in the ICU at University of Cincinnati Medical Center after his cardiac arrest on the field on Monday. For now, we know that his family believes his condition is improving and for now we know that as it stands, Buffalo (12-3) and New England (8-8) are set to kickoff from Highmark Stadium at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Beyond that? As starving as we all are for information on all of the above issues, we should hunger for facts, and not an assortment of conflicting "reports'' that actually take the tone of "educated guessing.''

Thanks for reading our SI-powered coverage of your Buffalo Bills ... Bills Mafia!

Get your Buffalo game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!

You're a member of Bills Mafia hungry for more Buffalo coverage? Read here.