NFL playoff rule changes will water down a competitive game

NFL owners are pushing to expand the playoffs to 14 teams in the new CBA agreement. In doing so, it would water down the game.

The latest news regarding the new CBA agreement between the National Football League and the players is expanding the playoff bracket. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, it would mean that seven teams from each conference would make the playoffs, with only one bye per conference. The change would increase postseason revenue and hopes to add more playoff excitement.

Currently, six teams from each conference make the playoffs with the top two seeds receiving a bye week on Wild Card weekend. If the new playoff picture were to take effect, the number two seed would be stripped of a bye week to give another team a playoff spot. If that had been the case this past season, the Kansas City Chiefs would have been playing Wild Card weekend against the 8-8 Pittsburgh Steelers. In the NFC, the Los Angeles Rams would have earned a playoff spot forcing the Green Bay Packers to play in the first round.

More playoff teams water down playoffs

Understanding that the move is to increase revenue, it also waters down the playoffs. Some fans see it merely as more football to watch, but is there anything exciting about watching the 12-4 team face off against an 8-8 team? Do we really want to see players put their bodies through another game just so that another mediocre team can say they made the playoffs?

There’s the argument that any team could win any given Sunday meaning that the seventh seed team has a chance to win the Super Bowl. While true, the fifth and sixth seeds haven’t even made it to the Super Bowl in the last nine years. In the 30 years that the playoffs have included six teams, only two of those years the Super Bowl was won by the sixth seed. The Wild Card teams have gone nearly a decade without making a Super Bowl, but the league wants to add another 8-8 team to the mix?

That small of a percentage for a chance to win the big game is not worth polluting the entire playoff system. Not to mention, why should the team that took care of business during the regular season to earn the second seed has a benefit taken away to be given to a team that didn’t take care of business?

NFL talks safety but increases risk of injuries

The Kansas City Chiefs wouldn’t have received that week of rest in 2019 that was desperately needed. On both sides of the ball, the Chiefs were being crushed with injuries all season. Going into the playoffs, cornerback Bashaud Breeland was dealing with his shoulder injury once again following an exchange with Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon. Instead of resting during that bye week, Kansas City would have either been without their top cornerback, or he would have played another game while still injured.

All the league has preached over the last few seasons is how they are making adjustments to incorporate more safety for the players. Yet, here we are trying to add more games that the players must go out and risk their health in. When an injury occurs, the body needs rest. When a player is consistently taking a beating over the span of a 16 game season, a week of recovery goes a long way to avoid more injuries.

It’s bad enough that the league has teams playing on Sunday afternoon to then travel across the country for a Thursday night game. With zero time to recover or even practice, the games are always sloppy and it’s begging for injuries.

Adding to the playoff bracket hurts the regular season

The addition of another regular-season game would not take effect until the 2021 season under the new CBA if approved. Whether the regular season was 16 or 17 games, adding a team to the playoff bracket would diminish the worth of regular-season games. One could argue that teams would be fighting longer to make the playoffs if they weren’t eliminated in Week 16 or 17. While those teams might be playing harder, the teams that have ensured a decent playoff spot will likely rest their starters even more towards the end of the season.

Teams that have locked up playoff positions will rest their starters in the final week of the season to avoid the possibility of injuries. Baltimore sat many of their starters in Week 17 this past year against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They still claimed a 28-10 victory over their rival with the backups in the game. That’s the team we want in the playoffs? A team that lost their final three games unable to score more than ten points in any of those three?

With only one bye week given out, more teams would begin resting their starters in the final weeks of the season. If they are going to be playing on the first weekend of the playoffs not having a chance at the one seed, they might as well rest their starters for the real games in January. Instead of competitive games in the final week of the regular season, we would see more backups playing instead. It also means that each individual game over the course of the season has less meaning with their being almost half of the teams from each conference getting a spot.

The NFL regular season is more competitive and entertaining than most other sports due to the fact that every game matters. One loss during the middle of the season could hurt you down the road. Adding more games, and more playoff teams diminish each game throughout the season to some extent.

Final Thoughts

As a kid growing up, we were taught that hard work would pay off in the long run. That was your motivation to go the extra mile, put that extra effort into whatever you were doing. While Kansas City handled their business making it to 12-4 in the regular season, they still would have had to play Wild Card weekend. Why would you take something away from the team that accomplished more and give something to a team that accomplished less?

On top of that, the number one seed not only gets a bye week, but they are the only team getting a bye week. On one end the league is helping a team that took care of business and on the other end punishing another for doing the same thing. Do we really need the number one seed gaining another advantage in the playoffs?

Many NFL players have taken to social media voicing their disapproval for the additional games. Players including Richard Sherman, J.J. Watt, and other household names made it clear that they don’t want more games. Even former players like Geoff Schwartz chimed in with their disapproval.

There’s nothing wrong with the playoff structure as it stands right now. Why are we trying to change something just for the sake of change? Wouldn’t you rather it remain the same with more competitive games instead of adding a game during the regular season and a team to the postseason so you could watch boring matchups? The owners would be the only ones benefitting from the additions while the players would be risking their mental and physical health even more.

If the NFL wants to keep talking about how they want to improve safety in the game, then they need to put their money where their mouth is and quit making changes that only increase injuries.