The Big Lead

NFL hints at significant changes to its playoff format

If the NFL goes this new route, it could drastically alter the value of having divisions.

By Matt Reed

Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond (11) runs against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7), right, and safety Josh Metellus (44) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Kalif Raymond (11) runs against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7), right, and safety Josh Metellus (44) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The National Football League could be on the brink of drastically altering its playoff format, and it would likely also change the way the regular season looks as well.

During Saturday's first Wild Card round matchup, news came out that the NFL will explore a new playoff format this offseason and potentially move away from teams earning the top four places in each conference based on winning their divisions.

Instead, the four best teams would be selected solely based on their records and winning percentages.

Now, this shouldn't come as a complete shock to fans or players, especially considering the fact that one of the league's elite wide receivers recently came out and called the NFL's current playoff format "crazy."

Detroit Lions pass catcher Amon-Ra St. Brown suggested that the league needs to explore an alternate format as his team was battling the Minnesota Vikings for the no. 1 seed in the NFC heading into Week 18. The Vikings ultimately lost that matchup and went from finishing first to earning the five seed in the conference.

With the proposed changes, the Vikings would instead be the no. 2 or 3 seed in the NFC depending on potential tiebreakers with the Philadelphia Eagles, who also finished the regular season with 14 wins.

Vikings safety Harrison Smith actually had a dissenting opinion compared to St. Brown's when he recently spoke on the Rich Eisen Show.

In a lot of ways the discussion of adjusting the playoff format makes sense, especially considering a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has won the NFC South three consecutive years with 10 wins or less. That's resulted in them earning a home game in the first round as opposed to having to go on the road, which makes a huge difference in the postseason.

The downside to this would obviously be that in certain years there would be the potential for division winners to not reach the playoffs. In 2020/21, the Washington Commanders won the NFC East with only seven wins, however, their record wouldn't have been good enough to qualify for the postseason if the NFL goes through with these changes.

Philadelphia Eagles facing the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field
Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

It also begs the question if the league would need to have six divisional games as they currently do. Rivalries would still have a huge place in the game, but perhaps only playing each divisional team once instead of twice would open up the opportunity to face more conference opponents in meaningful situations.

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Even once the NFL inevitably moves towards an 18-game regular season, six games against divisional opponents simply feels like too many, and these discussions of altering the playoff format could be a good time to finally make that adjustment as well.

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