The NFL playoffs begin this weekend with six games on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday night.
As the number one seed, the Kansas City Chiefs get the weekend off; but the number two seed Buffalo Bills must play the Miami Dolphins without star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
There is a good possibility that at some point in the playoffs the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chief will have to play for the AFC Division championship. If that occurs the NFL has deemed that said game should be played at a neutral site. That site has now been chosen.
The home of the Atlanta Falcons – Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been chosen for the neutral site game.
Under normal circumstances, the AFC Championship game would be held at the home of the highest seed team; but after the events on Week 17 when the Bills traveled to Cincinnati to play the Bengals, a near tragedy occurred when safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field as a result of cardiac arrest after a routine tackle. That game was postponed and later cancelled.
As a result, the NFL said that due to inequality of the number of games played, the game between the Bills and Chiefs would be played at a neutral site to alleviate any favourable field advantage.
Had the Bills – Bengals game been played, there was a possibility of Buffalo taking the top seed with a win. They enter the playoffs with a record of 13-3; while the Chiefs have a record of 14-3.
The news of the neutral game site comes one day after Damar Hamlin’s release from the hospital in Buffalo. He was released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Monday and flown to a Buffalo area hospital for further treatment and evaluation.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issues a statement saying, “we are heartened by the continued improvement and progress of Damar Hamlin in his recovery, and Damar and his family remain top of mind for the entire NFL community. We are also grateful to Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons for agreeing to host the AFC championship game in Atlanta should the Bills and Chiefs advance.”
Noting that they are no strangers to hosting big games, the vice chairman of Flacons’ owner Arthur Blank’s Sports and Entertainment Steve Cannon said, “we’re certainly ready to host it. Even though we’ve never hosted an AFC championship, that’s certainly who we are. Yes, and guess what, it’s going to be awesome. We’re going to do a great job, just like we did for semifinals of college football.”