NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

NFL Notebook, Week 14: Playoff predictions, Tom Brady’s struggles and more

By Zach Cohen

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 08: Robbie Gould #9 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts after kicking the game winning field goal during a NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on December 08, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 08: Robbie Gould #9 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts after kicking the game winning field goal during a NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on December 08, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 9
Next

After NFL Week 14, it’s time to think about the playoffs and potential changes, the Patriots quarterback issues, the College Football Playoff and much more.

How are we in NFL Week 14 already? It feels like just yesterday when I predicted the division winners prior to the season. Now, there’s a legitimate possibility that a team with a losing record wins the NFC East in three weeks.

How else do you know it’s Week 14?

Seven teams had different starting quarterbacks than they did in Week 1 (and that doesn’t include Eli Manning). An undrafted rookie quarterback had more passing yards than Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Odell Beckham Jr. is whining. I see the same commercial 16 times in one half.

Just a typical December, right? Naturally, I’m more focused on other topics. Here’s what I’m thinking about this week:

  • Should the NFL change its playoff format?
  • Do the Patriots have a quarterback problem?
  • What will this year’s playoffs look like?
  • Was the 49ers-Saints game the “Game of the Year”?
  • All this and more in this week’s NFL Notebook.

Let’s start with the playoffs — though not this year’s playoffs.

To Reseed, or Not to Reseed

Murmurs of revisions to the playoff formats have swept the NFL. It would be the first change to the postseason format since 1990 when two teams were added to the ten-team field. While it’s likely the NFC East division winner finishes at 9-7 or 8-8, it is possible they sneak in the playoffs with a losing record.

As with any hotly debated topic in the NFL, let’s see what the cases are for both sides of the argument.

Change

It’s only fair that the best teams make the postseason, right? How can you justify a 7-9 team making the playoffs over a 10-6 team? Because they didn’t win their division? Divisions are only important for scheduling and rivalries; they shouldn’t be used to punish good teams.

The NFL needs to be fairer and keeping something the same because “it’s always been that way” is a lazy, ignorant argument.

Don’t Change

It would essentially eradicate divisions. What’s the point of having them if they’re overlooked? What does the division winner get, a “Congrats, you’re better than three teams” t-shirt? Besides, the best teams make the playoffs most of the time. If a team is actually good, then it won’t matter where they play in the postseason.

Verdict

I’ll be honest, I changed my opinion when I was writing this. Now, I wouldn’t mind changes to the playoff format, though it might be an overreaction to alter it. Only twice in NFL history has a team with a losing record reached the playoffs (1982 Browns and Lions, 2010 Seahawks, and 1982 was shortened to nine games due to a player strike).

On top of that, the Seahawks actually won their Wild Card Round matchup in the famous “Beastquake Game”. Ultimately, fairness should be on the forefront of everyone’s minds. Maybe a better compromise would be giving home-field advantage to the team with the best record? After all, since the divisional realignment in 2002, there’s been 23 instances where the Wild Card team had a better record than the home team they were facing.

Home/NFL