Lions submit major rule change proposal that would have been huge help to rival Vikings last season
The NFL postseason may look a lot different in the future.
That is, if the Detroit Lions get their way.
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NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported that Detroit is pushing for a change in the postseason format that would have major implications going forward.
"The Lions proposed a bylaw change that would allow wild card teams to be seeded higher than division winners based on record," Pelissero wrote.
"This would’ve been helpful to the rival Vikings last year, and could be a factor in future years in competitive divisions."
It would have hugely benefitted the Vikings because Minnesota finished 14-3, yet still had to go on the road to face the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round.
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That's because the Lions won the division with a 15-2 record.
In just about any other year, 14 wins is usually enough to come out on top.
Except this past year, when the NFC North was ridiculously competitive.
And it's surpassingly the Lions, not the Vikings, who are proposing a change in the way teams are seeded in the postseason going forward.
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While last year may have been an outlier, there have been a handful of division winners that have finished below .500 and hosted home playoff games against teams with better records.
In 2020, the Washington Football Team finished 7-9 and won the NFC East.
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They hosted the eventual Super Bowl champions, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round and lost.
In 2014, the Carolina Panthers finished 7-8-1 and won the NFC South, but beat the Arizona Cardinals at home in the first round.
The Cardinals finished 11-5 that year.
In 2010, Marshawn Lynch and the Seattle Seahawks finished 7-9 and won the NFC West.
They beat the defending Super Bowl champions, Drew Brees and the 11-5 New Orleans Saints, at home in round one, in a game that included the famous 'Beast Quake.'
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The Vikings won 14 games this year and had to play a Rams team on the road that finished 10-7.
And Minnesota got absolutely thumped in that game.
Detroit's proposal will be voted on at the upcoming league meetings.
For the new format to pass, it would need to be approved by 75% (24) of the owners.
It is unlikely to pass simply due to this scenario being more of a rarity, than regularity.
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And it would put less emphasis on the divisions, which wouldn't be very popular.
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