After winning their division for the second straight season, the Detroit Lions are proposing a rule change that would make division standings mean less in the future.
The NFL released a list of potential rule changes Wednesday and among them was the proposal to change NFL playoff seeding to be based solely on regular-season records rather than division championships.
Under the NFL’s current rules, the top seed in each conference for the playoffs is given to the division winner with the best record, with the next best division winners rounding out the next three spots.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff takes a snap in their playoff loss to the Commanders. Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Lions head coach Dan Campbell talks to a referee in a December matchup with the Bills. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
This means that if a team doesn’t win their division but has a better record than other division winners within the conference, they would still receive a No. 5 seed or lower as a wild-card team and have to go on the road in the first round to face a division winner.
Detroit’s proposal would eliminate division titles’ importance and allow teams’ seeds to be based just on their records.
The format is notably currently used by the NBA, where divisions are essentially a formality and placement in the two conferences’ playoff pictures are simply record-based.
This would have shaken things up tremendously in this year’s playoffs, as the NFC North was extremely competitive with the Lions, Vikings and Packers all reaching the postseason.
The division championship came down to the final week of the regular season when Detroit bested Minnesota to clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed and the division. The loss put the Vikings at 14-3, tied for the second-best record in the conference, but dropped them all the way down to the No. 5 seed.
Jared Goff and Sam Darnold connect after the Lions beat the Vikings in Week 18. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Green Bay also had a better record at 11-6 than two division winners, the Buccaneers and Rams, yet were slotted as the No. 7 seed in the NFC.
It’s strange to think that the Lions would propose a rule change that would have directly benefited two of their biggest rivals this past season by giving them better seeding and, in turn, postseason home-field advantage in at least the first round.
Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown scores a touchdown against the Packers this season. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
But clearly Detroit is thinking of the bigger picture, as the NFC North looks to be extremely competitive yet again this coming season.
The Lions may have earned the top seed in the NFC with a first-round bye, but they were just one Week 18 loss away from swapping fates with Minnesota and taking the short end of the stick.
