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The NFL wants to make a change to the playoff format, and that's not leaving many people happy.
One of the league's main proposals, pushed by the Detroit Lions, is to remove the seeds that favor the teams with the best records in each Conference, use the divisional titles as a tiebreaker and reclassify the teams after the Wild Card round, something not everyone agrees with.
The proposal is basic: teams would qualify for the playoffs based on their winning percentage. Winning the division is still important because it guarantees a playoff spot; it just doesn't guarantee a home playoff game.
Lions' proposal for postseason games
In summary, this is the proposal and the significant changes for the playoffs:
- If teams have the same record, the division title would serve as the first tiebreaker (not head-to-head).
- After the Wild Card round, the teams would be re-seeded so that the top seed would always play the lowest remaining seed.
- The NFL is looking to increase competitiveness and excitement at the end of the season and reduce the number of teams resting their starters in Weeks 17 and 18.
Normally, if a proposal has little chance of ing, the league does not even put it to a vote. That could happen next week.
There are a number of experts who oppose the Lions' new idea. A change in the playoff standings would improve regular season games, make games more competitive down the stretch and, most importantly for decision-makers, generate more revenue for the league.
The NFL downplays divisional rivalries
In every preseason program for all 32 teams, since time immemorial, professional football coaches have laid out their plans, including winning the division, which means having a successful season and that you will play in front of your home crowd in January.
The NFL has been saying for years that divisional football matters less than ever. Before 2020, if a team won its division, it had a 50% chance of going straight to the first round of the playoffs. Now it has a 25% chance.
In addition, prior to that season, if a team did not win its division, it had a 1 in 6 chance of making the playoffs as a wild card. Today, that team has a 1 in 4 chance of playing in the postseason, according to an analysis by CBS Sports.
And since the addition of the 17th game in the 2021 season, divisional games hardly matter. Divisional games ed for 37.5% of the schedule in the 16-game format, and now for 35.3% of games with 17 games.
When the league gets to 18 games, if the schedule formula doesn't have a divisional game as an additional game, divisional matchups will for only a third of the season.
The 18th game is the important thing here. The more games that are added, the less important divisional games will be, but there may also just be more bad games on the schedule. A dilution of the most profitable television property is not good.
Teams have an extra game to tarnish and exhaust the streak. There may be years when divisions are decided early, like the Buffalo Bills, who by Thanksgiving Day had already dominated the AFC East and were assured of their place as the division's top seed.
"Competitive fairness", insists Detroit's proposal, is not only fair, but a must. But not everyone believes the decision.