Bengals getting screwed hard by NFL..

[JT45242]

Now that we know that Damar is ok. Can we talk about the screw job the league just gave the Bengals?

Had the Bengals won a HOME game that they scored first were winning and about to go up by two scores...(which all point to actually winning the game, unless of course you are the Raiders) , the Bengals would be the #2 seed right now. With tie breaker of head to head wins over both the Chiefs and Bills. Chiefs would be 13-3 ahead of the other two at 12-4. Bengals #2 based on head to head win.

So, you would think that any potential game between the Bills and Bengals in the playoffs would be a neutral site (assuming both win this weekend) or a coin flip...nope Bengals you will play on the road.

To add insult to injury. The league is assuming the Bengals lose so that they can try to give the Ravens a home playoff game.

Not sure what dirt the Bills and Ravens have on Goodell but this is BS.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

1. It all seems fair...home v. away difference, maybe one game in future.

[Mike_in_LA]

2. Eh

It is what it is. It's a game. A game I love, but this was an absolutely extraordinary matter.

[RockRaven]

3. There's no solution that everyone will think is fair. No matter how they did it someone was

inevitably going to feel like they got the short end of the stick.

Sorry it's the Bengals.

However, counting that game as a supposed win for the Bengals when parsing what should have been or what would be fair is a bit much.

[dem4decades]

4. The NFL screws the players everyday, why would they care about fans?

Besides, if the NFL had had their way the game would have probably restarted as soon as the ambulance left the field.

[Auggie]

5. I expected issues when they postponed the Monday game

The NFL is rigidly scheduled. Cancel a game this close to seasons' end with several teams in contention for playoff byes and home field advantage and one or two or three of those teams could be at a disadvantage.

Yes, it would have been a very tough call to not to cancel Monday. But this is the result.

[JT45242]

6. Had they just ruled it a tie, it would have been better.

More defensible than treating it as a Bills win.

[Better Days Ahoy]

7. Roger Goodell is bullshit, so anything he decides tends to follow suit

He's an asshole.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. You're asking them to assume the Bengals would have won. That would be very unfair

to both the Bills and Ravens. With the Bills-Bengals game removed, the Bengals have guaranteed winning the AFC North, so that's quite good for them. Yes, if both Bills and Bengals win this weekend, and then face each other in the playoffs, then the Bills will have the better record, so will be at home.

I wasn't sure what you mean by "the league is assuming the Bengals lose", but perhaps it's this:

The only thing I don't understand is the coin toss for playing at home if the Ravens beat the Bengals this weekend, and then Bengals and Ravens face each other in the playoffs. I'd have thought the rules that have made the Bengals the #3 seed in that case, and Ravens, #6, ought to also give the Bengals the home game.

So are you saying "if the Ravens beat the Bengals this weekend, they NFL say "well, the Bills might have beaten the Bengals too, which would have had the Ravens winning the division, so we'll use a coin toss to mimic that"? That does seem a little unfair, since a game can end in a win, loss, or tie, so to say the Bengals had a 50% chance of losing the game is not quite right - and then you add an early lead and home advantage on top, and it would have been an under-50% chance of losing.

But against that, if the Chiefs finish 13-4 in the regular season, and Bengals 12-4, and then those 2 make the AFC championship game, you get a neutral venue, which is slightly generous to the Bengals, so probably cancels out the coin toss.