The AFC Championship Game will not be played in Atlanta this year and Chris Long is more than happy to thank the Cincinnati Bengals for that.
Long, a former New England Patriots defensive end, praised the Bengals for avoiding the unusual playoff scenario the NFL laid out in the instance that the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs met in the AFC title game that would have resulted in a neutral-site playoff game.
The league laid out the scenario in the wake of the Bills-Bengals game being suspended due to the Damar Hamlin injury. However, many around the league had pointed out that the NFL stood to make money by holding a high-profile playoff game at a neutral site.
During this week’s episode of his podcast, “Green Light with Chris Long,” the former NFL player thanked the Bengals for, as he framed it, “respecting outdoor football”
“The Bengals saved us from the NFL using next week as a test case for something they want to do in the future,” Long said.
Long referenced speculation from Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Brandt that the NFL could use the unique circumstances this year as a sort of test case for the concept of neutral-site playoff games in the future. Along with other revenue streams, Brandt suggested that adding title sponsors for games -- similar to college bowl games -- could be down the road.
“Then you never know, because once the NFL tastes the green, they don’t come off of it,” Long said. “So the Bengals saved us from having to watch a sterile neutral-site game, and we’re gonna be at Arrowhead because the Bengals handled their business. So thank you to the Cincinnati Bengals.”
The AFC Championship Game will be played Sunday at 6:30 p.m. EST from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
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