If the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs reach the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 29, they’ll play in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the NFL announced on Thursday.

The conference championship contest normally would be hosted by the higher-seeded team, but NFL owners passed a resolution on Friday for a contingency plan allowing the AFC title game to be moved to a neutral site to address what the league called “potential competitive inequities.”

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The resolution directed that the AFC Championship Game be played at a neutral site, instead of the home field of the higher-seeded participant, if the two teams had played an unequal number of regular-season games and both could have been the No. 1 seed if both had played the full 17-game schedule.

The Chiefs hold the No. 1 seed in the AFC at 14-3. At 13-3, Buffalo might have been the No. 1 seed, though, if it had beaten Cincinnati on Jan. 2.

The Bills’ game against the Bengals was suspended after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered a life-threatening incident on the field. The NFL later canceled the game.

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The Bills beat Kansas City 24-20 on Oct. 16, giving them the tiebreaker over the Chiefs.

“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,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement issued by the league. “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. We know, if necessary, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will provide a world-class atmosphere for the competing teams, our fans and partners.”

The Bills and Chiefs would play for the AFC title at 5:30 p.m. CST Jan. 29. If the AFC Championship Game does not involve both Buffalo and Kansas City, it will be played on the home field of the higher-seeded participant.

Buffalo starts its postseason against the Miami Dolphins at noon Sunday. As the conference’s No. 1 seed, Kansas City got a first-round bye and will open the playoffs next weekend.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.