The Cincinnati Bengals are not too happy about the changes to the NFL Playoff structure after their Week 17 game against the Buffalo Bills was canceled.
Said game was initially suspended following one of the scariest incidents in NFL history when Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in the first quarter. He was immediately given CPR and taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after suffering cardiac arrest.
While Hamlin continues to approve, some of the focus has turned to the new playoff structure. That includes a coin flip to decide home-field advantage in a potential AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens should the two rivals meet to open the postseason.
The NFL’s Competition Committee voted in favor of this new structure despite the fact that Cincinnati won the AFC North by virtue of its superior winning percentage in playing one game less than Baltimore.
With the Cincinnati Bengals taking on Baltimore and looking to avoid that coin flip later on Sunday, they were able to score the first touchdown of the game. It came via a one-yard run from Joe Mixon, at which point the running back and his team trolled the NFL with an epic touchdown celebration. Check this out.
Mixon literally had a coin on him. It’s clear evidence that the Bengals were planning on this celebration as a way to shade the NFL. It might be the best celebration of the season. That’s not hyperbole. Talk about being original.
Again, this comes with the Bengals and their brass being pretty darn unhappy about the new playoff structure.
“It seems like there are positives for a lot of teams and just negatives for us. What’s in front of us is to win this weekend and reclaim an opportunity for a home game,” Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said this week.
The Bengals do look like they’re going to avoid that coin-flip scenario. They were up 17-0 against Baltimore early in the second quarter.