In five years since its introduction, the seventh seed has only won a single game
There’s a history between the Los Angeles Rams and the National Football League’s expansion of the playoff. The Rams missed out on the 2019 postseason despite a 9-7 record. With the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the following season the NFL added a seventh team to the playoff bracket for each conference—expanding to 14 teams total.
In the five years since introducing the seventh seed to the postseason, we can safely say this has been a mistake.
The seventh seeds are 1-9. Not only are their victories improbable, but they’ve largely been non-competitive with only two of 10 games being decided by a single score.
the 7th seed has won only once in 5 years since it’s introduction
only 2 of the 10 games have been decided by 1 score
Get rid of the 7th seed!
— Mike Renner (@mikerenner_) January 13, 2025
Last year’s Green Bay Packers team defeated the two seed in the Dallas Cowboys 48-32. They are the only seventh seed to earn a victory on wildcard weekend; however, they lost to the eventual Super Bowl runner-up in the San Francisco 49ers the following week in the divisional round.
This year the Packers were again the last team in the playoffs on the NFC side, and they looked outmatched versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Philly jumped out to a commanding 10-0 lead in the first half and never looked back.
On the AFC side, the Denver Broncos were tasked with taking down Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. While Bo Nix threw a deep touchdown for the lead on Denver’s opening drive, the Broncos had minimal offensive production the rest of the game. The final score was 31-7, and the Bills were 8.5 point favorites going into that matchup.
How the NFL can improve their product on wildcard weekend
I’m not just here to complain. I have an idea for how the NFL can improve their product for fans in the opening weekend of the playoffs.
Tasking a team that barely squeaked into the playoffs to take down a two seed is asking them to do the almost impossible. The league would be better off expanding the postseason field to eight teams in each conference, and then restoring the bye for the two seed. This would give both the one and two seeds a free pass to the divisional round and create more competitive matchups in the wildcard round.
Not to be a traditionalist, but another option is simply to eliminate the seventh seed and go back to the old playoff format—but that seems unlike the direction the modern NFL is headed.
Elimination of the seventh seed would also make Week 18 more interesting for fans of the NFL. We rarely used to see teams rest starters in the final week of the season, aside from division winners. If there were only two wildcard berths, it would increase the stakes in the final week of the regular season. Week 18 this year felt more like the preseason.
What are your thoughts on the NFL’s playoff structure? Let us know in the comments below whether you’d like to see the league go back to 12 teams or expand to 16.
