Atlanta Hosting The AFC Championship game as a neutral site
An NFC team’s city, the NFL deciding Atlanta hosting the AFC championship game was guaranteed to raise some eyeballs. The NFL had to devise a solution for the postseason after the league chose not to resume play between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals after Damar Hamlin’s tragic injury on Monday Night Football.
The league determined that having a neutral site for the AFC Championship game would be fair if the number 1 overall seed was impacted by the missed game. Because the Kansas Chiefs and Bills both won their games Sunday, there was a discrepancy. The Chiefs, who have a higher winning percentage than the Bills, earned the bye, but if the two meet in the AFC championship game, it would be at a. neutral site. According to Ian Rapoport with the NFL Network, the neutral site would be Atlanta.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta would host a potential AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, January 29, at 6:30 p.m. ET.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 12, 2023
Bengals and Bills fans react
Bills and Bengals fans reacted to the news Thursday on social media. Bills fans seemed happy with the location. Some Bengals fans felt it was unfair they didn’t have the opportunity to earn the number two seed. After all, the Bengals won’t have a chance to play at a neutral site against the Bills if both teams win this weekend.
Atlanta seems like a great location. The stadium is incredible.
Cinci and San Diego/Jax winner def have something to say about this. Hope we get there.
Side note: Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken in Atlanta is awful. It is the single worst chicken I've ever had. #BillsMafia https://t.co/z5mCcbVBlc
— Dan Freddy (@BuffaloFreddy) January 12, 2023
And the Bengals get screwed… great got it. https://t.co/O7W6Xs4Z5M
— Jared Arevian (@JaredArevian_) January 12, 2023
Gross. https://t.co/1sueRndpNB
— Vontaze Burfict’s Burner (@VontazeBurfict2) January 12, 2023
The NFL wants this… https://t.co/8vNZULGckU
— 🏈🥏Kevin Martin🥏🏈 (@K3vin513) January 12, 2023
Disgusting. Amazing how bad the NFL screwed this up. Game should be played outside in cold weather. https://t.co/EiTr3ORuQy
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) January 12, 2023
I'd complain it's close to Kansas City by about 100 miles, but they could have put this game on the moon, and there'd still be 40,000 members of #BillsMafia 😂 https://t.co/TUlGVPaRlG
— Austin Swaim (@ASwaim3) January 12, 2023
Be a shame if this weren’t to happen @Bengals https://t.co/9BkgCALNZK
— Ongo Gablogian (@poopydicknick) January 12, 2023
https://twitter.com/HappyCharlie55/status/1613590006668627973
Do the Bengals not exist? https://t.co/bNN4MobROS
— No use for a name (not the band) (@BeefCondor) January 12, 2023