ALLEN PARK -- The NFL tabled the Detroit Lions’ proposal to change the playoff-seeding format back at the owners meetings more than a month ago.
Now, owners are expected to vote on a tweaked version of the original rule change next week at another round of league meetings. Things would stay the same for wild-card weekend under the tweaked proposal, with overall records re-seeding the teams in the divisional round.
The initial proposal called for wild-card teams to be seeded higher than a division winner based on who had the better record. Detroit’s reason for the proposal was aimed at enhancing excitement down the stretch, and that it “rewards the best-performing teams from the regular season.”
Rod Wood, the team president, said it started gaining steam after Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown talked about how he didn’t understand how a 14-3 team would be a road wild-card team as the fifth seed. Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, reached out to the Lions after seeing -- and agreeing with -- St. Brown’s interview with the media and asked if the franchise would partner on a proposal about playoff-seedings.
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Sports Illustrated reports that the reason behind the league’s interest is to stop teams from resting starters in Week 17 or 18. The proposal is being tweaked for the first round to remain the same, with division winners continuing to receive home-field advantage in the opening round.
The Athletic clarifies that the new proposal would re-seed teams based on overall record, starting with the divisional round. For an easy way to understand how this would shift things around, the Lions would have faced the 10-7 Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round, instead of the 12-5 Washington Commanders.
If there are two teams with the same record in the divisional round, then the tiebreaker would go to the division winner.
“Because if you’re in Week 17 or Week 18 right now, you could have your seeding locked up,” Wood said last month. “But if you thought you could jump a division winner or a division winner thought they could get passed, they’re going to play out the whole season, which I think is better for the whole league, which is the real benefit I saw in proposing it.”