NEW YORK — The NFL announced Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia would host a potential AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, the league said Thursday.
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NFL clubs approved a resolution January 6 following the cancellation of Week 17′s game between Buffalo and Cincinnati after the collapse of Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
The league said the AFC Championship game would be played 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 scheduled,” the NFL said.
If the Bills and Chiefs both advance to the AFC title game, it would be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 29 at 6:30 p.m.
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“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 Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner. “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. We thank both of those clubs for their assistance in the planning process.”
Additional details including ticket information will be announced at a later date.
The Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC and have a bye this weekend in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
The Bills are the No. 2 seed and will host the Miami Dolphins Sunday at 1 p.m. in Orchard, Park New York.
The Bills-Dolphins game will be televised on Channel 7.