NFL to explore playoff format changes; division winners would not be assured home games: report
The Minnesota Vikings are tied for the second-best record in the NFC this year, but their first playoff game will be on the road.
That’s because the one team ahead of them is the 15-2 Detroit Lions, who won the NFC North with a victory over Minnesota in Week 18.
The Lions earned a top seed and a bye, while the Vikings head to Arizona to face the Los Angeles Rams. The game was originally scheduled for LA, but it was moved due to wildfires.
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The NFL shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., Nov. 25, 2024. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
It’s not the first oddity in the NFL playoffs. In the past, seven-win teams have hosted wild-card round games.
However, that could change soon.
According to CBS Sports, the NFL will take another look this offseason at changing its playoff format.
Jonathan Jones of CBS said one proposal is to give the top four teams based on winning percentage home games, instead of automatically giving them to division winners.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell listens to a question during a news conference ahead of the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium Feb. 5, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
If that system were in place this year, it would mean the Lions, Vikings, Eagles and Commanders would host games on the NFC side. For the AFC, it would be the Chiefs, Bills, Ravens and Chargers.
The Commanders and Chargers are on the road this weekend against the Buccaneers and Texans, respectively, because the latter two teams won the NFC and AFC South divisions.
Jones later added, though, that team owners have not shown “much of an appetite” to change the format.
Ahead of winning the division, Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown suggested change.
“Obviously, if you win the division, you should obviously make a playoff spot, but having a 14-win team having to go on the road is kind of crazy. But I guess I don’t make the rules,” he said at the time.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell listens to a question during a news conference ahead of the Super Bowl Feb. 8, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
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The last time the playoff format was changed was ahead of the 2020 season, when it was expanded from 12 to 14 teams. That resulted in just one team in each conference receiving a first-round bye as opposed to two. It also led to six wild-card round games, instead of four.
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