Lions Withdraw NFL Playoff Bracket Reseeding Proposal Ahead of Rule Change Votes

Ahead of a scheduled vote at the NFL spring meeting in Minnesota on Wednesday, a significant proposal was reportedly rescinded.

According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the Detroit Lions have withdrawn their proposal to change the league's playoff seeding.

The Lions previously submitted an idea for a revised system that would have seeded each conference solely based on record rather than the division winners automatically occupying the top four seeds.

Under the Lions' proposal, the four division winners in each conference still would have been guaranteed a playoff spot. But if any of them had a record worse than a wild-card team, they would have been seeded below the wild-card team.

Detroit's proposal also would have featured reseeding following the Wild Card Round, with the highest remaining seed facing the lowest remaining seed in each conference.

The current playoff seeding system requires the division winners to be the top four seeds in each conference, followed by three wild-card teams regardless of record.

That means a division winner with a 9-8 record receives a home playoff game in the Wild Card Round over a wild-card team with a better record.

Last season, that scenario played out in both conferences. The 10-7 Houston Texans hosted the 11-6 Los Angeles Chargers, the 10-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the 12-5 Washington Commanders and the 10-7 Los Angeles Rams hosted the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings.

In Week 18 of the 2024 NFL regular season, the Lions and Vikings clashed with the NFC North title on the line.

The stakes were enormous, as the winner would earn the NFC's No. 1 seed and a first-round playoff bye, while the loser would have to play a road game in the Wild Card Round.

Detroit won to clinch the No. 1 seed, while Minnesota dropped down to the No. 5 seed despite having a 14-3 record. The Vikings went on to lose to the Rams in the Wild Card Round.

During an appearance on SportsCenter over the weekend (beginning at the 1:20 mark of the video), ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler said the NFL owners changing the playoff seeding for the 2025 season was a "long shot."

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that "only a handful" of teams expressed a willingness to vote in favor of the change when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell conducted an unofficial vote in March.

That may be why the Lions decided to yank the proposal before an official vote was conducted Wednesday.

However, Fowler said Saturday that he believes the NFL is in favor of a change to the playoff seeding in the future, which means the proposal could resurface down the line.

With a playoff seeding vote no longer on tap, the biggest topic up for vote Wednesday will be the Green Bay Packers' proposal to ban the Philadelphia Eagles' Tush Push, as well as all instances of a ball-carrier's teammates pushing or pulling them.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the NFL's Health and Safety Committee and Competition Committee voted to ban the Tush Push, meaning the play is "likely on its way out."