The National Football League (NFL) has announced a contingency plan that could see Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, play host to a highly anticipated AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. This unprecedented move arises from the unique circumstances following the cancellation of the Week 17 game between Buffalo and Cincinnati.
Last week, NFL clubs approved a resolution designed to address competitive imbalances resulting from the Bills-Bengals game cancellation. A key component of this resolution is the possibility of a neutral site AFC Championship Game. This would occur if both the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs were to advance to the conference title game, and if these teams had played an unequal number of games, impacting their potential to secure the coveted number one seed and home-field advantage.
Therefore, should the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs both win their respective divisional round games, their AFC Championship clash would be relocated to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Atlanta was pre-selected by the NFL as a potential backup host for postseason games before the 2022 season commenced, owing to its near equidistant location from both Kansas City and Buffalo. For all other AFC Championship Game scenarios, the game will proceed as traditionally scheduled at the home stadium of the team with the higher seed.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated, “We are encouraged by the continued progress in Damar Hamlin’s recovery, and Damar and his family remain in the thoughts of the entire NFL community. We extend our gratitude to Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons organization for their willingness to host the AFC Championship Game in Atlanta should the Bills and Chiefs reach this stage. We are confident that Mercedes-Benz Stadium will provide an exceptional and world-class environment for the competing teams, fans, and partners, if necessary.â€
Further details regarding this potential neutral site game, including ticket information, will be released at a later time. It has been confirmed that Buffalo and Kansas City Season Ticket Members who had previously committed to purchasing championship game tickets will be given priority access.
