The NFL had a plan in place -- They clearly wanted the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs to be in the AFC Championship Game, which was slated to be in Atlanta due to the uneven number of games played. Well, the Cincinnati Bengals didn't like that plans were being made without keeping them in the loop.
That's why when the Bengals dog walked the Bills on Sunday in a snowy Highmark Stadium, head coach Zac Taylor didn't seem to care whatsoever about screwing up the NFL's master plan.
"We keep screwing it up for everybody. I hate that. I'm sorry." Taylor said with a sarcastic tone in his voice.
[Sarcasm font] "They have to formulate plans...we keep screwing it up for everybody. I hate that. I'm sorry."
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) January 23, 2023
Zac Taylor on the NFL's handling of the playoff scenarios and the #Bengals mowing right through them. @fox19 pic.twitter.com/JfLoWScfoV
Zac Taylor doesn't care if the Bengals ruined things for the NFL
A lot of fans were nervous for this game because the Bills were the darlings of the league and with the Damar Hamlin collapse happening not even a month ago, having them win the whole thing would have been quite the story. Yeah, the Bengals said that's not happening on our watch.
They dominated the darlings from beginning to end, leaving little room for the refs or anyone else to step in and try to make things more interesting.
Taylor has now led the Bengals to back-to-back AFC title games with a really solid chance to reach their second straight Super Bowl. Now that the Bills are out, the Bengals don't have another narrative to ruin for the league but they do have a title to win. It's right there in front of them.