The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions enter their Week 18 sport with matching 14-2 information and shall be enjoying for the highest seed within the NFC.
The stakes couldn’t be any clearer.
The winner not solely wins the NFC North, it additionally will get the No. 1 seed, a bye week and home-field benefit all through the NFC playoffs. It’s a fully huge reward for successful the sport.
The loser doesn’t get something near that. Regardless of having a report that can nonetheless be one of many top-five information within the league, the loser is not going to solely get the bye week or home-field benefit; it’ll find yourself having to go on the highway for its first playoff sport on the No. 5 seed and play the No. 4 seed (both the Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons).
The NFL’s playoff format is nothing new. All people is aware of the 4 division winners in every convention get the top-four seeds and no less than one dwelling sport. It generally presents a state of affairs the place a group with a greater report has to go on the highway, relying on the power of every division.
Some individuals don’t like that.
You’ll be able to depend Lions broad receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown as a type of individuals.
He argued on his podcast this week that the NFL wants to vary the playoff seeding format in order that division winners get computerized playoff berths, however that total report nonetheless determines the seeding.
