Somewhere, Chad Johnson is smiling.
After a first-quarter rushing touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals' running back Joe Mixon celebrated by flipping a coin:
While this would have been a pretty creative celebration even without context, there's a story behind it.
Due to the Damar Hamlin injury this past Monday night, both the Bengals and Buffalo Bills will only play 16 games this regular season, as opposed to the 17 that every other team will. That means that their seeding in the AFC playoffs will be decided by winning percentage, rather than their record.
However, the NFL -- much to the chagrin of the Bengals -- added a caveat to their adjustment to the postseason rules.
If the Ravens were to defeat the Bengals Sunday and the two teams ended up squaring off in Wild Card Weekend, the location of the game would be decided by a coin flip. While the Ravens would sweep their two matchups with the division-rival Bengals with a win in Week 18, the Bengals would still be the AFC North Champions based off of winning percentage. The idea that Cincinnati may not host a playoff game against a team in their division despite winning said division has seemingly been pulled out of thin air, which is why the Bengals are frustrated.
As things stand now, it appears that the Bengals will defeat the Ravens and the coin-flip scenario won't come into play. But as Tom Pelissero of NFL Media noted, Mixon's celebration is likely to net him a fine.
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