2011 NFL Playoffs: Why the League Needs To Change Its System

As the beast steamed forward and trampled defenders as if they were minor inconveniences in an otherwise tranquil walk in the park, jaws quickly began to drop. 67 yards later, Seattle Seahawks’ running back Marshawn Lynch stood in the end zone with a smile on his face and a plethora of teammates jumping on him. 11 New Orleans Saints defenders stared at the ground in defeat, oblivious as to how they allowed this to happen.

But this story is not about the underdog Seattle Seahawks and their upset over the defending Super Bowl champs. It is about the faults in the NFL playoff seeding system.

The playoff format is a tricky subject. Some experts concerned with the issue have claimed that the format is acceptable as it is, with four division winners and two wild card spots from each conference.

Others believe that the system will suffice but that once the playoff participants are chosen, records alone should dictate seeding. Both systems are flawed despite the excitement surrounding potential upsets. This year’s playoffs showed fans why the system needs to be changed.

It seems odd that the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts, both 10-6, hosted playoff games against the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets respectively, both teams with better regular season records.

It is more remarkable that the Seahawks won their division with a 7-9 record and hosted the 11-5 Saints. Sure, fans love upsets and the thrill of an underdog team beating Goliath, but is it really a fair system? Most teams will say no, particularly when, at 11-5, they have to travel to a 7-9 team’s field.

There was no team more undeserving of a playoff berth this year than the New York Giants, who essentially dared the Philadelphia Eagles to make a historic comeback in Week 15 and then got crushed the following week by the Green Bay Packers and their prodigious quarterback Aaron Rodgers, despite his return from a recent concussion. After scraping by the lowly Washington Redskins in week 17, they finished 10-6, bereft of a playoff spot because the Eagles had won the division and the Saints and Packers were the wild card winners (Packers having the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Giants).

Here is the new playoff format that needs to be implemented.

Scrap the divisions and eliminate the embarrassment of having a team with a losing record making the playoffs. In this system, the AFC and the NFC will have the teams they do now but with the top six teams making the playoffs. With this format, only the top six records will make it because there are no divisions or wild cards to worry about.

Seattle fans—stop clenching your fists and foaming at the mouth and listen. This system helps the face of the NFC. Every year the NFC is seen as the weaker conference that lacks power teams with bruising defenses. This format will present the class of the NFC, as well as the AFC.

Clearly this system benefits the NFC more than the AFC. In the NFC, the teams are less diverse in record, with seven teams above 10 wins this year and the rest at or below seven wins. Rather than having the 7-9 Seahawks hosting the Saints, which ended in a nail-biting upset because of the nonchalant tackling attempts by Saints defenders on Lynch, it could be the Saints hosting the Giants or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, another feel-good story of this season.

Have the Buccaneers, who at 10-6 are more deserving of a playoff spot than Seattle, potentially upset the Saints in a true NFC battle. Even with the upset over the Saints, the Seattle game was still embarrassing to the NFL. In effect, it is unjust to hold a team accountable for the records within its division. In other words, if the Buccaneers or the Giants were in the NFC West, the black sheep of the league, they would win the division. It is unfair to hold them out from a playoff berth because teams in their own divisions actually win games.

In the AFC, there are exactly seven teams with winning records and two with 8—8 records. This gives nine teams the opportunity to fight for six spots, with the San Diego Chargers losing that battle at 9-7 and the Oakland Raiders making a strong push at the end at 8-8. Essentially, this new playoff system is not as significant in the AFC, but at the same time it would not negatively affect the conference standings.

With the consistently poor play in the NFC, it is shocking that the NFL almost condones bad play just to create the opportunity for a shocking upset. For a team at 6-9, with one game left against the 7-8 St. Louis Rams left to decide the division and a playoff berth is astounding.

While former Colts head coach Jim Mora rants about his mediocre team in the Coors Light commercial, one can only fathom the possibility of Seattle Coach Pete Carroll answering questions about the possibility of a playoff spot. “Playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs?! You kidding me?! Playoffs?! I just hope we can win a game! Another game!”

Worry about reaching a .500 record before thinking about the playoffs. It’s time for only the best to fight for the Vince Lombardi trophy.