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3 Biggest Issues With Proposed New NFL Playoff Format

By Michael Luciano

The new playoff format makes no sense
The new playoff format makes no sense / Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

The NFL has decided for no reason to mess with perfection and attempt to change the playoff format in the newest CBA to allow a seventh team to enter the mix. Expanding the playoffs from 12, a perfect number of teams to admit from a group of 32, makes little sense at face value.

When you dig into the nitty gritty of it and really analyze it from an investigative perspective, however, it makes even less sense. These are just three of what could be a dizzying long list of problems with this format.

3. Only One Team Gets a Bye

The 49ers would have been the only team to get a bye in the new format
The 49ers would have been the only team to get a bye in the new format / Harry How/Getty Images

Under the new proposal, the No. 2 seed would play a home game against the No. 7 seed in the first week of the playoffs, while the No. 1 seed with home field advantage gets a bye. While this does make the fight for No. 1 more competitive, it also gives top seeds such a huge advantage over their competitors. When two evenly-matched teams meet up, some crowd noise and fresh legs might just be the difference maker that puts the No. 1 seed in the next round.

2. Underserving Teams Will Get In

Devlin Hodges would have made the playoffs in the new format
Devlin Hodges would have made the playoffs in the new format / Steven Ryan/Getty Images

Assuming that the seventh postseason team in each conference functions as another Wild Card team, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams would have made the postseason in 2019. This means we would have had to witness Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs take Devlin Hodges behind the woodshed while Jared Goff got pounded in the dirt by Green Bay. Is this what the NFL wants so badly?

1. It Isn't the Old Format

Mahomes and company would have had a much different path under the new format
Mahomes and company would have had a much different path under the new format / Jamie Squire/Getty Images

"If it isn't broke, don't fix it." The current 12-team model is the very opposite of broken in how it was constructed, but the league seems set on trying to re-invent the wheel and give fans a new spin on the postseason that no one asked for. We might get two extra playoff games, but is that really worth it?