The NFL announced that Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will host a potential AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, January 29, at 6:30 p.m. EST.
NFL clubs approved a resolution last week to mitigate the competitive inequities created by the cancellation of the Week 17 Buffalo-Cincinnati game, which included playing the AFC Championship Game at a neutral site if the participating teams played an unequal number of games and both could have been the number one seed and hosted the game had all AFC clubs played a full 17-game regular season.
Therefore, if Buffalo and Kansas City advance to the AFC title game, it would be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. As part of standard NFL contingency planning, Atlanta was designated a possible backup host site for postseason games prior to the start of the 2022 season and is almost equidistant from both potential participating teams’ cities. All other potential AFC Championship Game matchups would take place at the home stadium of the higher seed.
“We are heartened by the continued improvement and progress of Damar Hamlin in his recovery, and Damar and his family remain top of mind for the entire NFL community,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“We are also grateful to Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons for agreeing to host the AFC Championship Game in Atlanta should the Bills and Chiefs advance,” he continued. “We thank both of those clubs for their assistance in the planning process. We know, if necessary, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will provide a world class atmosphere for the competing teams, our fans and partners.”
With those two teams being the possibility, it is highly likely that Atlanta might be hosting a championship game soon. But then again, any given Sunday still applies to the playoffs.
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