Mike Florio On NFL Playoff Changes: Bengals Got 'Short End Of Stick At Every Turn'

CINCINNATI — NFL insider Mike Florio brought up the divisional round "inequities" facing the Bengals if they and the Bills win this weekend.

Cincinnati has to travel to play Buffalo, even though they were leading the Monday Night Football game, that had they won, would've given them home-field advantage over the Bills next weekend.

"The Bills secured the second seed and home-field advantage for the potential playoff game between the two teams," Florio wrote. "Without any allowance for the fact that the Bengals lost their chance to be the No. 2 seed. So, yes, the Bengals are upset. At every turn, they’ve gotten the short end of the stick. In a roundabout way, it has given them an edge that could come in handy when it’s time to go to Buffalo, and possibly back to Kansas City, in Cincinnati’s attempt to follow their most recent Super Bowl appearance with another one."

That extra edge is a great point and one that shouldn't even exist. The Bengals had 16 chances to post a better record than the Bills, and they failed to do that.

If they cashed in kicks during one of the TWO potential game-winning drives Joe Burrow led in Week 1—they'd be hosting next weekend. Still, the team is upset at an unfair situation. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer agrees.

"The Bengals have a very legit beef here," Breer said in response to the article. "I can see where they'd believe other teams (and owners) were given favored-nation status over them. I also think it's becoming a rallying cry for the team."

Cincinnati and Baltimore run it back in the Wild Card round on Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET. The game is available on NBC via fuboTV—start your free trial here.

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