Along with the 17 game season, another huge change that could come to the upcoming NFL season is the change in the playoffs. There are discussions ongoing about changing the format where seven teams, instead of six, make it per conference. And, instead of two byes to the top two teams per conference, there is only one bye per conference, handed out to the top team in each conference.
Do we like this idea?!
This is just a horrific idea all-around. I mentioned in an earlier post about the NFL and how competitive and meaningful each game is. Football is America’s favorite sport and honestly, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Why would we allow almost half the league to get into the playoffs? It takes away the competitiveness and it absolutely makes 0 sense.
I am a big proponent in the fact that the MLB should also not change the playoff format. I am very adamant about the NFL not changing their current playoff format.
For what it’s worth, if this format was effective last season here is what the first round of the playoffs would have looked like:
For starters, the two extra teams would be the 8-8 Pittsburgh Steelers from the AFC, and the 9-7 Los Angeles Rams from the NFC. Meaning, the Ravens and 49ers would be the only teams with byes. And that means the Steelers would travel to Kansas City where we would have a dream matchup of Duck Hodges / Mason Rudolph v. Patrick Mahomes.
On the NFC side, we would have more of an intriguing matchup. Jared Goff and company would travel to Lambeau Field to face Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. All in all, not much would change, I believe the Chiefs and Packers both take care of business and move on.
Now, with this change, the race and fight for the number one seed per conference would be even more important, and fun to watch. Although this is true, I do not understand the importance of changing the format. With an extra regular-season game, and two more playoff teams, the NFL is headed for major changes, more injuries, and less competitive play.
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