Roger Goodell Backs Lions’ Idea to Shake Up NFL Playoff Seeding
The NFL Owners’ Meetings have wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean rule changes are off the table. We’ve already seen a few adjustments this Offseason like a new touchback rule, playoff overtime rules matching the regular season, and expanded replay help. But two proposals didn’t get approved just yet: banning the tush push and revamping playoff seeding.
Turns out, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is all in on the Lions’ idea to change up how playoff home games are decided.
According to Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk, Goodell is pushing to eliminate the automatic home playoff game for teams that win their division. Instead, he wants home-field advantage to go to the team with the better regular season record something the Lions proposed. Apparently, during the meetings, Goodell was visibly frustrated by how much pushback the idea got.
Here’s how the Lions’ plan would’ve changed things: Last season, they beat the Vikings in Week 18 to win the NFC North, which sent Minnesota on the road to face the Rams in the Wild Card round. Minnesota lost. Under the proposed change, the Vikings would’ve hosted that game, because they had the better record.
Goodell thinks this change would make late-season games more exciting and meaningful, since teams would be fighting for better seeding, not just division titles. But it could also make divisions feel a bit less important. Florio pointed out that under the new system, the Lions-Vikings game wouldn’t have mattered as much since both teams had already locked in home games.
If the rule gets approved, it could seriously affect divisions like the NFC North, where multiple teams are competitive and could outshine weaker divisions like the NFC South. The big question now: can Goodell get enough support to make it happen?
Roger Goodell Wants to Tackle Playoff Seeding Lions Lead the Charge”
