Time for NFL to update seedings for playoffs

[Diehardblues]

Now that we’ve added another Wild Card with 14 teams making the playoffs out of 32 which is almost half its time to update our playoff seedings .

It would be easy to implement what the NBA did several years ago. Division winners still make the playoffs but seedings are based on records.

Teams with better records like the Cowboys last year shouldn’t be on the road against division winners with 4 less wins .

Maybe if we finish 3rd again as Wild Card needing to win 3 games on the road in the playoffs , Jethro will lead the way implementing change .

 

[Jipper]

1000% agree, but owners will never agree to it bc they dont want to give up the revenue from the home playoff game...theres still so much value to winning the division...but yes plese

 

[Diehardblues]

1000% agree, but owners will never agree to it bc they dont want to give up the revenue from the home playoff game...theres still so much value to winning the division...but yes plese

I hear ya and the revenue is probably the core issue although playoff ticket sales and revenue are shared differently from regular season.

But with only 6 games out of 17 in division , winning the division doesn’t hold the same value it used to.

 

[LonnieElam]

Absolutely. Tampa Bay had no business hosting that playoff game; it should have been the Cowboys.

 

[JD_KaPow]

I hear ya and the revenue is probably the core issue although playoff ticket sales and revenue are shared differently from regular season.

But with only 6 games out of 17 in division , winning the division doesn’t hold the same value it used to.

It's not the 6 games against each other. It's the fact that teams in the same division play very similar schedules (only 3 games different). Teams in different divisions play wildly different schedules, with as few as one common game (I think that's possible). You can't compare those records without ignoring the huge differences in strength of schedule that can exist.

 

[Established1971]

Now that we’ve added another Wild Card with 14 teams making the playoffs out of 32 which is almost half its time to update our playoff seedings .

It would be easy to implement what the NBA did several years ago. Division winners still make the playoffs but seedings are based on records.

Teams with better records like the Cowboys last year shouldn’t be on the road against division winners with 4 less wins .

Maybe if we finish 3rd again as Wild Card needing to win 3 games on the road in the playoffs , Jethro will lead the way implementing change .

with 8 divisions I kind of think you should not qualify if you finish under .500 even if you win your division. That is assuming there are winning teams to replace you. TB making the playoffs at 8-9 over the Lions and Commanders is a bit of a travesty. But at least they should be seeded lower as you say.

 

[Flamma]

Now that we’ve added another Wild Card with 14 teams making the playoffs out of 32 which is almost half its time to update our playoff seedings .

It would be easy to implement what the NBA did several years ago. Division winners still make the playoffs but seedings are based on records.

Teams with better records like the Cowboys last year shouldn’t be on the road against division winners with 4 less wins .

Maybe if we finish 3rd again as Wild Card needing to win 3 games on the road in the playoffs , Jethro will lead the way implementing change .

Not on board. If you're going to have divisions, make them count. Or don't have divisions. They already made a mockery of the regular season by allowing 7 teams in from each conference. You want to do the same for division winners?

 

[jsb357]

Time for NFL to update seedings for playoffs​

 

[Diehardblues]

Not on board. If you're going to have divisions, make them count. Or don't have divisions. They already made a mockery of the regular season by allowing 7 teams in from each conference. You want to do the same for division winners?

You are making winning divisions count by automatic qualifier despite record. Which could keep teams with better records out.

But rewarding them him home field is another issue. Something even the NBA rectified.

 

[Diehardblues]

Back when I first broached this idea, the general question was, why have divisions if the champions don’t get higher seeds and don’t get to host playoff games—at least on Wildcard Weekend?

Why have divisions? Oh, I don’t know, to make travel easier, to make scheduling easier, to create long-lasting regional rivals (for the most part) and, oh yeah, to earn a trip to the postseason!

Since when was it written in stone that a division champion got to play at home in the first round of the playoffs? That was rhetorical, because it was in 1990, right after the NFL expanded its postseason field to allow a sixth seed in each conference.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Is there a chart showing how the increased playoffs seeding match-ups will look like?

 

[big dog cowboy]

If division winners have a losing record they don't deserve to host a playoff game.

I'm a bigger fan of reducing the number of teams that make the playoffs. 14 of 32 teams is ridiculous.

I'm also a fan of 16 not 17 games a year and expanded rosters. Dang greedy owners.

 

[stiletto]

Makes division titles almost meaningless. Will never happen. League depends on the division rivalries for ratings.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Now that we’ve added another Wild Card with 14 teams making the playoffs out of 32 which is almost half its time to update our playoff seedings .

It would be easy to implement what the NBA did several years ago. Division winners still make the playoffs but seedings are based on records.

Teams with better records like the Cowboys last year shouldn’t be on the road against division winners with 4 less wins .

Maybe if we finish 3rd again as Wild Card needing to win 3 games on the road in the playoffs , Jethro will lead the way implementing change .

I'm all for this.

 

[Diehardblues]

Is there a chart showing how the increased playoffs seeding match-ups will look like?

1st seed has bye

7th seed at 2nd
6th seed at 3rd
5th seed at 4th

2nd , 3rd & 4th seeds are division winners

 

[Diehardblues]

Makes division titles almost meaningless. Will never happen. League depends on the division rivalries for ratings.

Automatic playoff seed isn’t meaningless .

Why have divisions? Oh, I don’t know, to make travel easier, to make scheduling easier, to create long-lasting regional rivals (for the most part) and, oh yeah, to earn a trip to the postseason!

 

[America's Cowboy]

1st seed has bye

7th seed at 2nd
6th seed at 3rd
5th seed at 4th

2nd , 3rd & 4th seeds are division winners

Oh, so it's the same chart that was done for last season (2022)?

 

[USArmyVet]

LOL...let's change the format because of the perception that Dallas was hindered last season so by all means fix it because only Dallas is important.

 

[Diehardblues]

LOL...let's change the format because of the perception that Dallas was hindered last season so by all means fix it because only Dallas is important.

It’s for any team that has a better record and season .

With an additional playoff team in each conference making it 3 Wild Card teams to 4 divisional it’s likely to occur more often throughout the league .

 

[Diehardblues]

with 8 divisions I kind of think you should not qualify if you finish under .500 even if you win your division. That is assuming there are winning teams to replace you. TB making the playoffs at 8-9 over the Lions and Commanders is a bit of a travesty. But at least they should be seeded lower as you say.

Right, but I think maintaining the divisions automatic qualifier is important, regardless their record.

Divisional rivals is an integral element for the NFL and we wouldn’t want to minimize such importance .

I think the NBA got it right when they expanded the playoffs and seeded by record not division winners.