The Detroit Lions have decided to shelve their proposal to change the NFL’s playoff seeding format after failing to gain the required support from other teams.
The proposed change would have taken inspiration from the NBA, seeding playoff teams based on overall conference standings rather than giving automatic home-field advantage to division winners.
Division champions would still be guaranteed a playoff berth, but not necessarily a home game.
Using last season as an example, the Buccaneers finished 10-7 and earned the No. 3 seed, hosting a wild-card playoff game. Under the proposed system, Tampa Bay would’ve hit the road for the first round, while teams like the Washington Commanders or Minnesota Vikings, who had better regular-season records than Tampa Bay but missed out on a division title, would’ve hosted instead.
Over the last few seasons, nobody would’ve been hit harder by this rule change than Tampa Bay.
Greg Auman, who covers the NFL for Fox Sports, did a great job breaking it down. Over the last five seasons, the Bucs would’ve lost three of their home playoff games, more than any other team.
This rule change would’ve been an absolute disaster for the NFL as we know it. And no, I’m not just saying that because of how it would adversely affect the Buccaneers.
The seeding change would’ve taken a lot of the value out of the division system in the NFL to focus more on conferences as a whole. But divisional rivalries have become a huge part of the league’s tradition and history as teams battle it out each year with familiar opponents for a home playoff game.
Sure, winning your division still grants a playoff berth, but the idea of fighting for first place over a 17-game season only to be scheduled as a road team in the wild card round isn’t exactly rewarding, or fair, frankly.
The league will revisit this proposal in the near future as part of the package with an eventual 18-game season, and it seems the long-term plan ultimately remains to rally the support to go through with a playoff seeding change.
For now though, the Buccaneers can rejoice as the significance and tradition of division rivalries lives to see another day, and winning the NFC South still guarantees Tampa Bay a home game in the first round of the playoffs, for at least one more season.