NFL Playoffs are officially 7 teams per conference starting this year

[Millennial_Messiah]

No more worrying about 10 win teams possibly getting snubbed out. Especially in the stacked NFC.

Only one bye in each conference. That is absolutely fair. Two byes is one too many. Bye should be the ultimate prize for being the #1 seed and no less. I love this change.

[So, theoretically, there can be a 20-0 team now, if there are two teams who don't play each other in the same conference so they can theoretically both go undefeated.]

Side note: They have left open the possibility for a 17-game season starting in 2 years; but I hope it never happens, since it will ruin statistics historically across the league.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-expanded-playoffs-how-many-teams/1p5noalpfti221hfyoinqckt81

[SpursforSix]

No more worrying about 10 win teams possibly getting snubbed out. Especially in the stacked NFC.

Only one bye in each conference. That is absolutely fair. Two byes is one too many. Bye should be the ultimate prize for being the #1 seed and no less. I love this change.

[So, theoretically, there can be a 20-0 team now, if there are two teams who don't play each other in the same conference so they can theoretically both go undefeated.]

Side note: They have left open the possibility for a 17-game season starting in 2 years; but I hope it never happens, since it will ruin statistics historically across the league.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-expanded-playoffs-how-many-teams/1p5noalpfti221hfyoinqckt81

If they're doing this, they might as well add one more team. It's ridiculous giving the #1 team the only bye. Especially considering they may have even rested players in the last game.

[Millennial_Messiah]

If they're doing this, they might as well add one more team. It's ridiculous giving the #1 team the only bye. Especially considering they may have even rested players in the last game.
no, it's ridiculous to give an 8-8 team (or worse, especially in the AFC) a chance to beat a 13-3 powerhouse in a single elimination format

[SpursforSix]

no, it's ridiculous to give an 8-8 team (or worse, especially in the AFC) a chance to beat a 13-3 powerhouse in a single elimination format

It's sports mother fucker. You want some potential for upsets. Giving the #1 team a free week is going to fuck that up imo. If you're 13-3, you shouldn't have any problem with the 8-8 team.
Having one team with a week off has implications beyond that one game.

[Millennial_Messiah]

It's sports mother fucker. You want some potential for upsets. Giving the #1 team a free week is going to fuck that up imo. If you're 13-3, you shouldn't have any problem with the 8-8 team.
Having one team with a week off has implications beyond that one game.
8 teams on either bracket means exactly half the league makes the playoffs every year, that's too watery / diluted IMO.

8-8 teams in the playoffs is just as bad as having 6-6 or 5-7 teams playing in bowl games in the NCAAF. Or, the NBA's Eastern conference for the past 20 years where at least one 30-something win team almost always manages to sneak into the playoffs. Usually leads to a snoozefest first round series there.

Besides, nobody wants a quadruple header on both Saturday and Sunday of wild card weekend. Triple header mirrors the regular NFL season so that works very well, but how are you going to fit 4 games? Nobody would want to play or watch early morning games as if they're playing in London or something.

[SpursforSix]

8 teams on either bracket means exactly half the league makes the playoffs every year, that's too watery / diluted IMO.

8-8 teams in the playoffs is just as bad as having 6-6 or 5-7 teams playing in bowl games in the NCAAF. Or, the NBA's Eastern conference for the past 20 years where at least one 30-something win team almost always manages to sneak into the playoffs. Usually leads to a snoozefest first round series there.

Besides, nobody wants a quadruple header on both Saturday and Sunday of wild card weekend. Triple header mirrors the regular NFL season so that works very well, but how are you going to fit 4 games? Nobody would want to play or watch early morning games as if they're playing in London or something.

You're retarded. There's little difference between 7 and 8 teams being in other than the massive advantage the #1 seed receives with the first week bye. If there's that big a gap between the 13-3 team and the 8-8 team, then the 13-3 team shouldn't have a problem. Plus it accounts for teams being in easy divisions.

[Millennial_Messiah]

You're retarded. There's little difference between 7 and 8 teams being in other than the massive advantage the #1 seed receives with the first week bye. If there's that big a gap between the 13-3 team and the 8-8 team, then the 13-3 team shouldn't have a problem. Plus it accounts for teams being in easy divisions.
Idk, but I think having a full week of R&R is a massive prize that should be reserved for the very best team, not the best two teams from either side.

Also, the idea of a faint but not impossible 20-0 season (undefeated #2 seed that got shafted in the strength of schedule tiebreaker) is pretty tantalizing, too.

[FrostKing]

Too much rest backfires from time to time. Consider how flat both AFC top seeds came out in 2020

[DAF86]

18 weeks season. Each team plays 16 games and rests 2. 8 teams make the playoffs per conference. That should be it.

[Millennial_Messiah]

18 weeks season. Each team plays 16 games and rests 2. 8 teams make the playoffs per conference. That should be it.

I like the 18 weeks season (start the season first Sunday of September instead of the 2nd), get rid of the dumb useless 4th preseason game, move one up in August. Having 2 byes ensures that there will be less complaining about "hey that's not fair that you got a week 13 bye and I got stuck with a week 4 bye".... and the like.

[Millennial_Messiah]

Whelp, tonight and tomorrow were officially fun. I like the concept and hope it stays. However, they absolutely MUST jettison the dumb 17-game idea, which will create competitive imbalance, and I will not watch the NFL if this happens.

[Millennial_Messiah]

I really like the first weekend in January tripleheader though. DAF86

[Millennial_Messiah]

Bears and Colts didn't win but they provided the scare for sure.

[Millennial_Messiah]

#No17GameSeason

[Millennial_Messiah]

Hope they keep it up with the 14 playoff teams but no reason to really call it "Super Wild Card Weekend" anymore, tbh, if it's going to be the norm going forward.

[Millennial_Messiah]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially the first wild card team to make the Super Bowl since, ironically Aaron Rodgers' Packers. Also, first team to make the Super Bowl having won three games (i.e. played in the Wild Card round) since the 2012 Ravens.

[Shahidullah]

There is no god but Allah
Muhammad is the Prophet (pbuh).
Soon all will be over