The Bengals lost the game on Monday night against the Bills. They actually didn't, but they might as well have. The NFL's decision today on how to proceed with playoff seeding for the AFC effectively gave the Bills a win for the game, while giving the Bengals a loss. Don't believe me? Let's see what was at stake:
With a win against Buffalo...
-The Bengals would have moved into the second seed. Owning tie breakers with KC and Buffalo, a win against Baltimore gave them the #2 seed with a KC win or the #1 seed with a KC loss. In the event they played Buffalo in the Divisional round, that game would be played in Cincinnati.
-The Bengals would've clinched the AFC North. This would allow them to rest their starters in week 18, and play a very basic game plan to give nothing away should they have to play Baltimore in the playoffs.
With a loss against Buffalo...
-The #1 and #2 seeds are gone, but Bengals would be playing for the AFC North Championship this week. A win would lock them into the 3 seed with a home playoff game, while a loss would put them into a 5 or 6 seed. Obviously, this would become a must win game.
Now with the Buffalo game called a no contest and the NFL's decision, let's see where the Bengals stand...
- The possibility of a #1 or #2 seed are gone. Disappeared into thin air. No resting starters in week 18, no playing with a basic game plan to not give away how we would attack a Ravens team in a play off game. Week 18 now became a must win. With a win this week, highest seed the Bengals can get is a #3 seed. Yet with a loss hey can still sink as low as the #6 seed.
-The Bengals are AFC North Champs before the game begins. Going by the rule book, the Bengals will have a winning percentage than the Ravens. BUT, the NFL decided to make a rule change. Despite being Division Champs, a loss this weekend means the Bengals can still play on the road at Baltimore in the Wild Card round based on a coin flip....
-Essentially, this week is now a must win game... which is exactly what it would've been if the Bengals lost to the Bills.
-But wait, there's more! Should the Bengals lose to the Ravens and lose the coin toss, not only would they play on the road as AFC North Champs, but they would also get the rest of the things that come with being a division champ: a lower draft pick in 2024, and a harder schedule in 2024. In other words, they can get all the negatives of being a division champ, and none of the positives!
Essentially, the Bengals saw everything they could've gotten with a win over the Bills just disappear. What they're left with is the exact same consequences as a loss, plus the added negative of 2024 being harder.
Declaring the Bengals-Bills game a tied would've negated this whole situation. Finishing the game on Tuesday or Wednesday would've negated the whole situation. Instead, the Bengals are left with by far the shortest end of the bargain, screwed by the NFL that claims to care so much about having parity and equal opportunity.
