The current structure of the NFL often results in teams with lesser records hosting playoff games, because every division champion is guaranteed one of the top four spots on the conference’s playoff tree. That sparks periodic complaints, when wild-card teams with better records than division champions must play on the road in the postseason.
The Lions, who would have faced that outcome if they’d lose a Week 18 game against the Vikings, have proposed a change to that approach.
The suggestion is a simple one. The seedings for each conference would be determined by record, without regard to whether any team won its division.
Division champions would still get in. They would no longer be guaranteed a home game, and their spot on the playoff tree would be determined relative to the records of the other playoff teams in the conference.
Despite the legitimate gripes regarding the fairness of the current approach, there’s never been any real sense that teams will support a change to the rule. As it stands, each team has a one-in-four chance every year to host a playoff game.
Of course, given that the conference has sixteen teams and four teams land with the top four seeds, there’s still a 25-percent chance each year of being one of the teams that will host a playoff game.
Still, it will take plenty of work for the Lions to get at least 23 other teams to agree. The league generally believes there should be extra meaning to winning a division. Guaranteeing a home game provides it.
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