For years, I’ve protested the NFL’s stated desire to expand the NFL playoffs by adding two or more teams and two or more games, citing the sanctity of the league’s regular season, where every game counts and only the cream of the crop lives to see January.
Besides, isn’t it rather counter-intuitive to add any games while trying to make the game safer and limit injuries? The whole thing has always felt like a money grab.
Earlier this week, commissioner Roger Goodell emphasized again that the league would like to add playoff games, while at least pointing out that they respect the existing balance between the regular season and the postseason.
“It will likely happen at some point,” Goodell said of playoff expansion during a meeting with Jaguars season-ticket holders, per the Jags’ official website. “But we want to be really cautious.”
Maybe it’s that concession, or maybe I’ve just become soft, but I’m starting to come around. Why? Selfishly, it’s because nothing beats playoff football.
Seriously, in my world, nothing. There is nothing better than micro-analyzing a do-or-die NFL football game in January with a trip to the Super Bowl potentially at stake. It’s gold on Twitter, it’s gold with friends, it’s just gold. There’s nothing better than watching an NFL playoff game in an exclusive time slot on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon knowing that every play can change the course of the season, essentially making history.
I want more of that and am willing to sacrifice some of the gravity that comes with such an exclusive regular season in order to get it. Besides, the No. 1 seed would become super important because it would be the only seed that gets a bye. Teams will fight for that. The trade-off is that you’ll sometimes have teams locked into the 2-4 seeds that won’t have much to play for late, but I’m willing to give you that in exchange for fierce battles for first place in the conference and two extra playoff games.
Had 14 teams made the playoffs in 2015, here’s how the bracket would have looked:
AFC
First-round bye: Broncos
(2) Patriots vs. (7) Jets
(3) Bengals vs. (6) Steelers
(4) Texans vs. (5) Chiefs
NFC
First-round bye: Panthers
(2) Cardinals vs. (7) Falcons
(3) Vikings vs. (6) Seahawks
(4) Redskins vs. (5) Packers
With all six of those games in exclusive time slots, wild-card weekend would be bananas.
I’m down. I’ve been swayed by the product.
