A 14-3 Vikings staff was compelled right into a highway journey to play a 10-7 Rams squad, albeit in Arizona because of the Los Angeles-area wildfires, however this was not the one sport by which a house staff carried a worse file. The Buccaneers and Texans every hosted opponents (the Commanders and Chargers) who carried worse data than the guests held. Houston prevailed in opposition to the AFC’s L.A. franchise whereas Washington defeated Tampa Bay.
Highlighted by situations by which seven-win Seahawks (2010), Panthers (2014) and Commanders (2020) groups earned house video games by profitable their respective divisions as seven-win groups, the NFL awarding house video games to division winners has come below frequent scrutiny. The 2008 Chargers and 2011 Broncos every went 8-8 and beat 12-4 groups (the Colts and Steelers) at house in Spherical 1.
Division winners didn’t all the time earn opening-round house tilts, because the four- and five-team brackets — from 1975-89, not less than, because the NFL didn’t flip to record-based home-field benefit till the ’75 season — required the division winner with the worst file to start postseason play on the highway. Since 1990, nonetheless, each division winner has begun its playoffs at house.
The league will take one other take a look at its seeding format this coming offseason, CBS Sports activities’ Jonathan Jones notes. Moderately than award house video games to the 4 division winners, the NFL would take a look at giving them to the 4 groups with the very best win percentages general. This could resemble how the NBA seeds its playoffs. Although, it’s price noting proposals alongside these strains haven’t made it too far prior to now.
A playoff hierarchy that determines seeding based mostly on file would have required the Eagles to play their starters in Week 18, as each the Vikings and Lions entered Week 18 with superior convention data within the occasion of a tiebreaker state of affairs. The Packers and Commanders additionally would have factored into pursuits of a first-round house sport in Week 18.
The NFL, as Jones notes, additionally noticed its rankings decline by 2.2% from the 2023 season. A format by which wild-card groups and division winners might have extra to play for in Week 18 would assist the general product, albeit whereas devaluing the significance of profitable a division.
Whereas the NBA has seen its format deprive the league’s divisions of a lot which means, the NFL has seen them retain significance for ages. Altering that figures to be a tricky battle, as John Mara had as soon as mentioned a 2008 measure to reseed on this matter “went down in flames,” with Jones including the trouble didn’t obtain significant dialogue.
Whereas the rankings element might conceivably push this difficulty to a dialogue this time round, it is going to be troublesome to check the nation’s hottest sports activities league making a big-picture change like this at current.
