The Detroit Lions Have Proposed Change To NFL Playoff Format

The Detroit Lions were able to clinch the NFC North title in the final game of the season last year against the Minnesota Vikings. The win gave Detroit the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, while the 14-3 Vikings were forced to go on the road to play the 10-7 Rams.

The Lions benefitted from the winner-take-all game on the final day of the year last year, but they've introduced a proposal that would eliminate the situation the Vikings experienced after losing.

Detroit is proposing a change to NFL playoff seeding wherein the seedings for each conference are simply determined by record without regards to division titles.

If the proposed change was enacted last season, the Lions, Eagles, Vikings and Commanders would have been the top four seeds in the NFC. The Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted playoff games after finishing with worse records than teams like Minnesota and Washington.

The division winner with the best record would still be the conference's No. 1 seed under the new proposal, but the remainder of the playoff seeding would be determined by record.

The Los Angeles Chargers made a similar proposal in 2023, but it failed to gain traction among other teams around the league. Teams are allowed to freely propose rule changes, but those changes must be approved by at least 23 other teams.

The proposal joins others from around the league, including a motion by the Green Bay Packers to ban the "tush push" play made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles have also introduced a potential rule change that would guarantee each team a possession in overtime in the regular season, essentially applying the current playoff rules to every game.

We'll see if teams around the league respond positively to the Lions' proposal or to any of the others around the NFL. As things currently stand, guaranteeing a home playoff game to every division winner incentivizes teams to go after a division title.

Alternatively, the argument can be made that incentivizing teams to have the best records in their conference would serve the same purpose.

As the NFL considers new rules, we'll find out if divisional-based seeding will become a thing of the past.