If Chiefs play neutral-site AFC Championship Game, where will it be? NFL is discussing
NFL owners approved a resolution Friday afternoon that will potentially alter the sites of AFC playoff games this season.
And the most important news for the Chiefs: If they earn the AFC No. 1 seed this weekend with either Buffalo or Cincinnati finishing a half-game behind them, they would potentially play the Bills or Bengals in the AFC Championship Game at a neutral site.
So where would that be? And what factors will go into the decision?
NFL vice president of broadcast planning Michael North said Friday on a Zoom call with reporters that the league’s events group was still going through scenarios.
“They’ve already begun having some of those discussions,” North said. “Not prepared, I don’t think yet, for us to commit to indoor or outdoor or where.”
All three teams — KC, Cincinnati and Buffalo — play in outdoor stadiums. Meanwhile, many potential neutral sites that would make sense for the game include domes in cities like Indianapolis or Detroit.
North, however, said keeping the game outdoors would only be one of many factors considered. Some other challenges include stadium availability and specific locations undergoing offseason renovations.
When specifically asked about the viability of Detroit or Indianapolis hosting the game, North said they both were “surely in the conversation” along with other cities.
“I’m sure we’ll be considering things such as the availability of the teams’ fans to travel to the sites,” North said. “I do think we’ll have a lot more information on the potential neutral sites after this weekend, if, in fact, this is still a possibility, which it may not be after Sunday’s games.”
There is a scenario where the Chiefs can claim the AFC’s No. 1 seed this weekend while also clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs — meaning the AFC Championship game would not go to a neutral site against either Buffalo or Cincinnati.
That would be if KC beats Las Vegas on Saturday and Buffalo loses at home to New England on Sunday. The outcome would make the Chiefs at 14-3 and the Bills at 12-4, putting 1 1/2 games of separation between the two teams.
KC also can avoid a neutral-site AFC Championship game against Cincinnati if the Chiefs, Bills and Bengals all lose this weekend. In that case, KC would be 13-4 and Cincinnati would be 11-5, meaning the neutral-site clause would not go into effect if the Bengals advanced to face the Chiefs in the AFC title game.
North said numerous times on Friday that if a neutral site AFC Championship Game was required, the league expected to announce that site next week.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said one of the main goals this week — in declaring Monday night’s Cincinnati-Buffalo game a “no contest” and agreeing to the potential of altered postseason sites — was to minimize overall league disruption across all 32 teams with the league’s final decision.
“We believe this is a focused approach that would only affect four teams,” Goodell said, “and directly address the potential from competitive inequity, resulting from 30 teams playing 17 games and two playing 16 games.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2023 at 3:54 PM with the headline "If Chiefs play neutral-site AFC Championship Game, where will it be? NFL is discussing."
