CINCINNATI — Many Cincinnati Bengals fans are voicing excitement and confidence heading into Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round game against the Buffalo Bills.

But there’s another sentiment many of them are experiencing heading into the weekend matchup in Orchard Park, New York: Anger.

Bengals fans, like D.J. Tully, Emily Witt and Joe Goodberry, believe a recent NFL ruling robbed them of a chance to watch their team compete for a berth in the AFC Championship game in Cincinnati.

The contention stems from the now-infamous meeting between the two teams earlier this month on Monday Night Football.

The NFL suspended and later canceled the game following Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest midway through the first quarter.

It was the last week of the regular season.

Sam Mustian and Emily Witt (R) in Lot B outside Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati before a Bengals-Chiefs game. (Photo courtesy of Emily Witt)

On Jan. 6, the owners of the NFL’s 32 teams voted on two rule modifications about potential postseason locations to address an uneven number of games played across the league. The changes considered the fact Buffalo and Cincinnati played only 16 games. 

The proposal only affected four teams — the Bills, Bengals, Kansas Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. Many Cincinnati fans contend their team got the short end of the stick.

Had the Bengals defeated the Bills in the regular season, Sunday’s game would be in Cincinnati.

The NFL’s plan needed 24 “yes” votes to pass and received 25. 

The Bengals, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins voted against it, according to NBC Sports. The same report indicated the Chiefs, Bills, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers all abstained.

“It’s not fair,” said Tully, 33, who lives in St. Bernard, Ohio, not far from the Bengals downtown stadium.

Last year, Tully traveled to Nashville and Kansas City for two road games on the Bengals march to their first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years.

But this new playoff format hurts the team’s chances of making a return trip to the Big Game this season, he said.

Under the rule changes, Cincinnati faced the prospect of having to play the Ravens on the road in the wild-card playoffs if they lost to Baltimore on the last day of the regular season. The location would have come down to the flip of a coin.

At worst, the NFL the site should have gone with another coin toss scenario, Tully said, but he thinks the fair thing to do was make it a neutral site game.

“That being said, it’s out of our control now,” he added. “It’s a road game now, so we just have to go to Buffalo and do our thing.”

Chris Crawford, a Northern Kentucky-based Bengals fan, believes the ruling is fair. What it comes down to, he said, was the Bills had the higher winning percentage during the regular season.

“No one knows what would have happened in the Monday Night game,” he noted. “The Bengals were leading and looked really good early, but there was a lot of time left and you just can’t assume a win.”

Whether the decision was fair or unfair, all things considered, things could be worse,” Witt said. 

The Bengals are a game away from defending their conference title. Where that game would take place will come down to the outcomes of both the Bills-Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars-Chiefs matchups.

“To say this game will be competitive and emotional feels like the understatement of the NFL playoffs,” said Witt, 28.

Witt was inside Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium for the last Bengals-Bill game and watched the situation with Hamlin unfold. After all that’s gone on, the biggest key to success is trying to stay focused on the Xs and Os, Witt said.

“I believe to be a professional at this caliber, you have to be able to separate yourself from the game and the person — as hard and unfair as that sounds. Thankfully, since Hamlin is getting better every day, it hopefully makes that boundary easier to draw.”

The Bengals have won their last nine completed games, including last weekend’s 24-17 playoff win over the Ravens — and Crawford hopes that trend continues on Sunday.

He expects a close, hard-fought game. But the turnover struggles by Bills quarterback Josh Allen give the Bengals the edge, he said.

Despite his confidence, Crawford has concerns. The Bengals are playing without three of their five starting offensive lineman. And then, there’s the Buffalo weather.

Goodberry became a Bengals fan despite living near Niagara Falls, New York. It’s about 20 minutes from Highmark Stadium where the Bills play.

The forecast calls for “picture perfect football weather” on Sunday, Goodberry said, but he warned it’s still January in Buffalo.

“Anything is possible,” he said.

Whether it’s the cold temperatures or crazy fans, home field advantage always carries a tremendous amount of weight, especially following the events of the last few weeks, Witt said.

“I am very curious how Bengals fans will be treated in Buffalo, and what the general game atmosphere will feel like,” she said.

Goodberry plans to be in the stands on Sunday with his brother, Glenn. He senses there will be a “decent number of other Bengals fans” there as well to bring a little bit of The Jungle to western New York.

“When it comes down to it, you’ve just got to handle your business,” he said.