The Cincinnati Bengals are openly upset with the plan the NFL has enacted for this year’s postseason, and their frustration may have begun with the lack of communication regarding whether their game against the Buffalo Bills would resume.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Bengals were informed at one point by a member of Monday night’s officiating grew that the game would resume in 10 minutes. It quickly became obvious that the Bills were not willing to play given the circumstances surrounding Damar Hamlin’s health emergency. One player heard Bills head coach Sean McDermott say the game would not resume even if it meant Buffalo had to forfeit.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor was willing to accommodate the Bills and did not want them to have to forfeit. Florio reports that one player heard Taylor offer to resume the game the following day. Cincinnati players believed at the time that the game would be played on Tuesday.
For obvious reasons, things got even more confusing from there. The situation was unprecedented, which is why it took over an hour for the game to be officially postponed. It was unclear at the time if Hamlin was going to live. The NFL disputed that players were ever told to warm up for the resumption of play, but there have been multiple reports confirming that the directive was given. The league was merely following standard procedure at that point, but the right call was ultimately made.
As Florio explained, the Bengals were sensitive to the situation with Hamlin. They also realized the massive playoff implications that their game against Buffalo had and wanted to play at some point.
The NFL announced on Thursday that the game would not be played, which is a decision the Bengals were not informed of ahead of time. Team owners then approved a one-time change to the playoffs that seems fair to every team but Cincinnati. We explained in detail why the Bengals feel they got a raw deal.
