Goodbye to the NFL playoffs as we know them? The rule change proposed by the Lions that would modify the seeding system

Every year representatives from the NFL’s 32 teams will meet to discuss potential changes to the game.

One of the most high-profiles proposals for this year’s Annual League Meeting is the Green Bay Packers' suggestion to outlaw the infamous ‘tush push’ but it’s far from the only one. The Detroit Lions have tabled a bylaw change that could have a seismic affect on the postseason picture.

The Lions want to “amend the current playoff seeding format to allow Wild Card teams to be seeded higher than the division champions in the Wild Card team has a better regular season record.”

As it stands, each of the divisional champions are given top seeding spots from their respective conferences. However a team that finished second in their division and won their place through the Wild Card round may actually have had a better regular season record, something that Detroit wants to be acknowledged in the playoff system.

Which teams would be affect by the change?

Every year there are strong teams who find themselves lowering down in the all-important seeding because they were unfortunate enough to be in the same division as another dominant side.

Last season the Minnesota Vikings stormed to a 14-3 record but they finished second to the Lions in the NFC North, meaning that they could only take a No. 5 seeded spot. That ensured a road game to start the post season and they were defeated by an LA Rams team that only managed a 10-7 regular season record.

A similar fate befell the Packers last year. Green Bay won 11 games in the regular season but found themselves with the No. 7 seed. That earnt them a road game against the imperious Philadelphia Eagles and they suffered a 22-10 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions.

In short, the proposal would benefit teams who find themselves in a divisional group with one other very strong team. It would reward teams with better regular season records but it does undermine the league’s divisional structure by removing a reward for the divisional champs.

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