Through all the years in the NFL, changes have been made for what they say is the betterment of the game. Sadly, they have a long way to finish.
The NFL is brutal and there is only so much the league can do to enhance safety. We have yet to see the perfect invention that will make concussions an afterthought or save a player’s knees from being ruined by a low block or hit, to say nothing of non-contact injuries.
While health is one of the big focuses the NFL makes each year, the competitive nature of the league needs to change as well.
The NFL needs to retool the playoff schedule.
There was talk last week that the NFL could expand the playoff field to eight teams in light of the game that was ultimately canceled between the Bills and Bengals. In reality, they need to reduce the field to six teams and forget about the 7th.
The league begged the NFLPA for an 18th week and they received it along with the 7th team in each conference. To make it work, only one team gets a bye week from the NFC and the AFC. Why? Home-field advantage is enough and some teams have complained in the past that the bye week took them out of a rhythm.
What the NFL needs to do, is cut the field to six, eliminate the bye week for the top seed and implement a complete bye week of games following the regular season to allow all teams the ability to rest and get key players healthy.
If there was a bye week between the end of the regular season and the playoffs it could potentially lead to better games in the postseason.
The bye week could also serve as a flex weekend to give the NFL a week to play any games that were rescheduled or canceled. We have seen the league during COVID reschedule games, we have seen games get moved because of hurricanes or wildfires. Having a week “19” available solves that problem and while it might not be 100% fair to those teams who might have to play in a week 19, it gives the NFL a needed cushion.
Will this happen? No way in hell! The league is all about the money and losing games in any given week is not something the league will want to be a part of. Sadly, smart decisions only happen with they accompany dollar signs.