Bengals running back Joe Mixon wasted little time in making fun of the Baltimore Ravens with his touchdown celebration during Sunday’s last regular-season game, after their complaints over the NFL’s postseason seeding scheme.
With just over a minute left in the first quarter, Mixon removed a coin from his gloves and flipped it, signifying the choice made by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell regarding the site of the Bengals vs. Ravens Wild Card Weekend playoff game.
Cincinnati has to win in order to earn home-field advantage, however based on their winning % and the final result, the Bengals will be the AFC North champions. In the event that the Ravens win, a coin flip overseen by Goodell will choose the host location.
Mixon took to Twitter on Thursday to voice his disgust with the decision, as did many other Bengals players. With particular attention to the clause on the “Competitive Policy for Cancelled Games,” he uploaded a picture of the rulebook. “So we not following the rules no more,” he wrote after that.
Like Mixon, Bengals coach Zac Taylor stated that all that matters is that the rules be obeyed.
The league released the following statement in its entirety on Friday afternoon:
As a result, the game was called off since finishing it would not have affected which teams advanced to the postseason and would have necessitated delaying the start of postseason play; and
While several AFC clubs had a chance to host the AFC Championship Game and be the top seed in the American Football Conference at the time the game was postponed; and
While the membership hopes to lessen any potential unfairness in the standings that could arise from placing the AFC Championship host team according to the number of games each side plays in the regular season; and
However, the membership hopes to lessen any further possible unfairness in the competition that may arise from Baltimore and Cincinnati playing an unequal number of
Agreed that, for the 2022 season only, the Commissioner will choose the neutral site for the AFC Championship Game if: (A) the participating teams participated in a different number of regular season games; (B) the lower-seeded team in the Championship Game could have been the top seed in the AFC if all AFC clubs had participated in the full 17-game regular season; and further
It is resolved that the game will take place at the home stadium of the team with the higher seed if neither of the competing clubs could have hosted the Championship Game and been the first seed in the AFC had they played the whole 17-game regular season; and further
Held, that in the event that (a) Baltimore overcomes Cincinnati in the
On behalf of the Competition Committee, the Commissioner’s Office submitted the document.
Rationale: To lessen the impact of two teams playing fewer regular season games on competition in the AFC playoffs. Effect: To mandate the neutral site for the AFC Championship Game and to allow for a site switch under specific circumstances for the Wild Card Game between Baltimore and Cincinnati.
