After Dan Campbells' Week 18 gaffe, Lions propose to change playoff rules

If you cheer for the Los Angeles Rams, then you almost certainly recall the controversy surrounding the Detroit Lions' head coach, Dan Campbell, and his gaffe at the conclusion of Week 18 in which he shared a post-game handshake with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell. The handshake was not controversial, as the two coaches had just competed in a winner-take-all grudge match for supremacy of the NFC North Division and the NFC's BYE week as the top-seeded team entering the 2025 NFL Playoffs.

As the two coaches shook hands, Campbell commented to O'Connell: "Good job. Great season. I'll see you in two weeks."

The problem with that statement was the fact that the Los Angeles Rams stood between the Vikings and any chance of competing in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs. Campbell may or may not have intended to throw shade at the Rams, but his off-the-cuff comment did exactly that. And the comment could not have come at a worse time for the Vikings. No player or coach wants to give an opponent bulletin board fodder to motivate that opponent. Yet Coach Campbell's comments were noticed. First noticed by this Rams player, the word quickly spread throughout the locker room.

The irony of his statement is that neither the Detroit Lions nor the Minnesota Vikings would win in the postseason.

Typically, the tale would end there. But the Detroit Lions continue to keep that event in the public eye. You see, the Minnesota VIkings ended the 2024 NFL season with a record of 14-3. The Los Angeles Rams ended the season with a record of 12-5. But, thanks to the Rams winning the NFC West Division, they hosted the Vikings in the Wild Card Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs.

The Lions want to change the rules so that cannot happen again. Their rule proposal for 2025 is to seed NFL teams by record. The rules to qualify for the NFL Playoffs remain the same, four NFL Divisional winners plus three wild card teams. But the Lions want to change the seeding to that teams are ranked by record. Had the rules changed in 2024, the Rams would have been the seventh seeded team in the NFC.

But I'm not sure that their proposal has much support among NFL teams:

The biggest problem with the Lions' proposal is not who plays where. For teams like the LA Rams, it all but eliminates opportunities to rest starters before the playoffs. You see, in the new rules scenario, the Rams would have had every incentive to compete with starters against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18, if only to ensure a higher seeding than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And in the Lions' proposed scenario, the Vikings would have earned the third seed in the NFC.

The Washington Commanders would clock in as the fourth seed. The Green Bay Packers would come in as the fifth seed.

While it's a change, it does not improve the game. Nor does the proposal add more competition to professional football. Sure, for fans of teams that ended the season well but did not win their division, it's a challenge. But the NFL already rewards those teams with a chance to compete in the NFL Playoffs to begin with. And there is no way for the league to create that level of equity, as NFL teams do not compete on the same schedules nor face the same opponents.

What happens if the Detroit Lions win the NFC North Division, but do so with a record of 9-8? Will they be just as eager to bend the rules when that change adversely affects them?

Changing the NFL rules should be limited to safety and competition concerns. Changing the seeding rules of the NFL Playoffs carries an aroma of bending the rules to give an advantage to teams that may not necessarily warrant that advantage. I think many NFL fans, coaches, and executives like the rules just as they are.

If the Detroit Lions or Coach Dan Campbell are unhappy with getting bounced out in their first playoff game, changing the rules is not the answer.

As always, thanks for reading.

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