Rams will not face controversial Lions proposed playoff seeding

When the 2024 NFL season ended, the Los Angeles Rams earned a final record of 10-7. Thanks to a rather complex set of NFL tie-breakers agreed upon, the Rams won the NFC West Division and hosted the Wild Card Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs. Well, semi-hosted. Due to wildfires in and around the Los Angeles Community, the game was moved to Arizona.

There, the Rams hosted the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings.

If you recall, the Minnesota VIkings and Detroit Lions played the final game of the 2024 NFL season to not only determine the winner of the NFC North Division, but which team would get the coveted top-seed in the NFC. That top-seed comes with a bonus of a BYE week, automatically giving the team a pass directly to the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.

It also gives that team home field advantage as long as they compete in the postseason.

The Lions won that game, earning home-field advantage and a BYE, and sending the Vikings to face the Rams. But Lions HC Dan Campbell commented to VIkings HC Kevin O'Connell that he would see O'Connell in two weeks, implying that the Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers would win their respective playoff games. That was enough to put the whammy on the Vikings.

In actuality, only the Eagles won. The Rams defeated the VIkings handily. And the Washington Commanders defeated the Lions.

It was no coincidence that the Detroit Lions responded to the postseason debacle that landed losses to the Vikings by proposing a change in the NFL Playoffs format. Rather than award home field advantage to NFL Division winners, the Lions proposed that the NFL still allow all four NFL Division winners to gain access to postseason competition, as well as the top three NFL team record holders.

But in the Lions' proposal, NFL teams would be seeded entirely by record. How would that change things? Let's compare the two formats:

Current NFL Playoff seeding

1. Detroit Lions - 15-2
2. Philadelphia Eagles - 14-3
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 10-7
4. Los Angeles Rams - 10-7
5. Minnesota Vikings - 14-3
6. Washington Commanders - 12-5
7. Green Bay Packers - 11-6

Lions Proposed NFL Playoff seeding

1. Detroit Lions - 15-2
2. Philadelphia Eagles - 14-3
3. Minnesota Vikings - 14-3
4. Washington Commanders - 12-5
5. Green Bay Packers - 11-6
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 10-7
7. Los Angeles Rams - 10-7

Notice the difference? In the Lions' proposal, the Rams would be punished by ending up with a seventh seeding. That would ensure that no matter what, the Rams would face road games as long as they survived in the postseason.

Does it make sense? No. After all, NFL teams do not share common opponents or schedules. Of 32 teams, no single team faces more than 14 different opponents in any regular season. The remaining three games in the schedule are made up of playing divisional opponents twice.

To add even more clarity, the Detroit Lions faced NFC North Division opponents twice, but also faced teams from the AFC South and NFC West Divisions. The Los Angeles Rams faced teams from the NFC West Division twice, but teams from the NFC North and AFC East Divisions.

So teams do not have similar schedules.

Perhaps it was that flaw in their logic that compelled the Lions to rethink and rescind that proposal. In any case, the Lions withdrew their playoff reseeding proposal, ensuring that it would not be implemented.

Changing rules is not a common route to find relief. And there was no greater competition inherent in the Detroit Lions' proposal. In essence, it was a way to ensure even more controversy. If playoff seeding were based solely on records, then the entire concept of NFL Divisions would be the next to be eliminated. After all, with no clear reasons to win a division, why not simply set teams by NFL Conference and ignore divisions altogether?

The Lions proposal seemed more like a knee-jerk reaction to an embarrassing moment caught on camera. In this case, the Lions' withdrawing their proposal was the right thing to do.

As always, thanks for reading.

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