The NFL Still trying to figure out how to proceed after that Damar Hamlin’s heart attack on the field Monday night’s Bills-Bengals game, a matchup between two AFC heavyweights, was canceled Has serious playoff implications.
NFL’s rivalry team on Thursday Comes with a collection of visuals The game was never played between two of the three contenders for the AFC’s No. 1 playoff berth. Those scenarios involving sites and hosting for the AFC Championship are scheduled to be voted on Friday by the NFL’s 32 teams at a special league meeting.
ProFootballTalk Discussed an idea Expanding the AFC and NFC playoff fields from seven to eight teams should alleviate the challenge of determining a top seed in the AFC. Bills–Bengal Don’t play. Adding an eighth playoff team to each conference is not something that has been discussed, NFLBA executive director DeMaurice Smith said during a conference call Thursday, but doing so would require additional bargaining to get that eighth team of players and teams. Being the No. 1 seed earned additional compensation.
If the NFL were to expand the playoffs for this season, three teams would currently be out of playoff contention (the Jets In AFC, The Generals And Saints in the NFC) will have a shot at the postseason once again.
Here’s a closer look at how things might pan out.
Current playoff teams
Entering Week 18, there are 11 NFL teams that have already clinched playoff berths under the seven-team postseason format. If the NFL wanted to expand the field to eight teams in each conference it would look like this:
AFC
Winning category
Grabbed a playoff opportunity
NFC
Winning category
Grabbed a playoff opportunity
The current postseason format still has eight teams vying for the three remaining playoff spots: Jaguars, Patriots, Dolphins, The Steelers And Titans For two AFC places and Sea hawks, Lions And Bakers to an NFC location.
Newly qualified teams in an 8-team playoff format
If the NFL postseason format expands to include eight teams from each conference, three teams previously eliminated under the seven-team format will have a chance to clinch a playoff spot this weekend:
AFC
NFC
- Commanders (7-8-1)
- Saints (7-9)
That means there will now be 11 total teams competing for the five unclaimed playoff berths: six AFC teams fighting for three spots and five NFC teams for two spots.
Chances of clinching a playoff berth in an 8-team format
Below are the odds for each of those 11 teams to earn a playoff berth in an expanded, eight-team postseason format. Contradictions are through AthleticA racing model developed by Austin Mock.
Odds for AFC Playoff berth under 8-team format
Odds to clinch an NFC playoff berth under an 8-team format
(Photo: Ken Blaze/USA Today)
