It’s Time To Reform The Broken NFL Playoff System That Chooses Champions Based On Luck

Twelve years ago, January 8, 2011, America’s sports industry complex was revealed to be largely a sham. The defending Super Bowl champions, the New Orleans Saints arrived in Seattle with a record 11-5. Two wins less than they needed to win their division that year. They were 10-point favorites against the Seahawks. The Seahawks had a record of 7-9 but managed to win their division. This was the first time in the National Football League’s (NFL) history that a team with a losing record had made the playoffs.

The beast quake was what happened on that day. Marshawn Lynch, also known as Beast Mode, broke nine tackles in a 67-yard touchdown drive that secured the victory for the Seahawks. Seattle’s vaunted 12th-man fan base freaked out so hard they registered on a seismograph. The beast quake was born.

Why England’s System Is Superior

This Monday night, Tampa, Florida will likely see something similar. Dallas Cowboys were within a game to secure home-field advantage in the playoffs. Instead, the No. 1 seed will have to travel to Tampa to face Tom Brady. Brady’s Buccaneers are currently ranked 17th in the league. The NFL currently has 32 teams. This places the Bucs below midway. All four teams in the Cowboys’ division are ranked above the Buccaneers, yet one of those teams will not be playing in the postseason and the Buccaneers will have home-field advantage for the first round.

This system is broken. The Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks didn’t have any business being in the playoffs a decade back. The NFL, and American sports in general, are beholden to a bizarre system of determining champions based in large part on luck, and it’s time for things to change.

Consider the English Premier League (EPL), which is undoubtedly the most powerful and well-known sports competition in all of the United Kingdom. The double round-robin tournament determines the champion. All 20 teams compete against each other at home and away. Draws earn one point, wins earn three. After playing 38 games in a period of 10 months, the champion is the player with the most points. No championships, no playoffs. Only wins against the exact same teams determine the best soccer team England each year. Both goals scored and goal difference are also important.

But most importantly, the three worst teams in EPL don’t get to stay in EPL. They go down to the English Football League Championship (EFL), and three teams of EFL replace them. The promotion and relegation system is used at multiple levels in English football.

The five major American sports leagues decide their champions by a conference championship structure. This means that the divisional champions compete against each other in a conference championship, and the conference champions face each other in the grand final, which is usually a best of seven series. Major League Soccer (MLS), and the NFL are exceptions. Each determines their champions.