NFL: What If Conference Championships Were Decided Over Two Legs, Like Soccer?

The NFL is, undoubtedly, the most popular sport in the United States, with ratings at an all-time high. When the labor issues are finally resolved, the money train will continue to roll on, regardless of how it is split between equally greedy owners and players.

On the field, the product is equally as peaked. The players and teams have provided fans with great games and compelling stories that leave the public wanting more and more.

A major reason for this success is due to the nature of the NFL playoffs. There is a certain magic to the single elimination system (something unique amongst American sports), but that doesn’t mean it is the best, or the most accurate, way to determine a champion.

Most soccer cup finals that take place across Europe are of the one-off variety, in order to keep the spectacle of the final intact. Similarly, nothing is greater than the Super Bowl, and that should never be altered.

The home-and-home concept is impossible to do in each round of the playoffs; with the injury rate being what it is players would fall by the wayside as would approaches 20+ games. You don’t need to look any farther than the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, who fielded as many scabs in the playoffs as a Week 4 1987 contest. I was seriously waiting for Lional Vital to come off the sidelines and take handoffs from Aaron Rodgers.

Let’s take a look at last year’s conference title games as an example for how a second leg could have completely transformed the contest, and possibly the outcome.

The Pittsburgh Steelers jumped out to a 24-3 halftime lead against the New York Jets in the AFC title game, and eventually held on for a 24-19 win. Now on the surface it would appear that the Steelers coasted in the second half, aiming to simply run the football and keep the clock moving, while relying on Ben Roethlisberger to convert the occasional third down.

The only problem is that this is exactly what the Steelers did with so much success in the first half. The Steelers ran the football 20 times (aside from kneeldowns and Roethlisberger scrambles on passing plays), compared to 15 pass plays in the first half, while keeping a similar ratio in the second (15:10).

This was simply a case of one excellent football team playing well in the first half, and another excellent team weathering the storm and dominating the second half.

With that said, how would a second leg at the New Meadowlands play out? It must be noted that the final score of 24-19 probably wouldn’t be exactly accurate with a return match in mind (Pittsburgh had the ball at the Jets 26 with under two minutes left and would likely have added to the lead but instead chose to run out the clock), but a deficit of eight to 12 points would not be irreversible with the Jets at home.

To say who would have advanced to the Super Bowl is obviously impossible. Given the home field edge and the urgency the Jets would need to play with to overcome such a margin, it could work to their advantage. However, the need to make up this gap could lead to an abandonment of the running game and having Mark Sanchez win the game with his arm, something that is probably not a successful formula. This is only scratching the surface of the added strategy that would be necessary if a second game was added.

The motivation would sure be there from a defensive standpoint. Can you imagine a week of practice with Rex Ryan demanding such a turnaround from his squad? Or how about him guaranteeing a trip to the Super Bowl while in a double-digit hole? The media would have a field day with this extra wrinkle.

The NFC side, on the other hand, would offer little such drama. The Packers controlled the majority of the NFC Championship Game (Caleb Hanie heroics aside), disposing of the Chicago Bears 21-14 at Soldier Field. It’s a pretty fair assumption that if there was a return leg at Lambeau, the Packers would have been able to secure a trip to the Super Bowl. Chicago was not in the same class as the men in green (did I mention Caleb Hanie?), and a second match would only further expose the fraudulent status of the Bears as NFC title game participants.

In terms of soccer, having two legs to decide a winner has long been a staple of competitions. The Champions League is the most obvious example of this, as the best teams in Europe vie for being called the continent’s best. As an example, Barcelona and Real Madrid (arguably the two best teams in the world at the moment) meet in the semifinals of the CL this season. If they met in the final, it would no doubt be a spectacular affair, but them meeting at this stage assures that the better team will move on to play for the title.

This is an idea that I’m sure most fans strongly disagree with. Change is rarely met with open arms, and it’s only afterwards where it is truly appreciated. However, playing these games over two legs would increase the importance of winning your conference, something that is often lost due to the magnified nature of the Super Bowl, and more accurately determine who gets to be a part of the big game.