The Minnesota Vikings are tied for the second-best record in the NFC this year, but their first playoff game will be on the road.
That’s because the only team ahead of them is the 15-2 Detroit Lions, who won the NFC North with a victory over Minnesota in Week 18.
The Lions earned a first-place finish and a bye, while the Vikings travel to Arizona to face the Los Angeles Rams. The match was originally scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, but it was moved due to wildfires.
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The NFL Shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on November 25, 2024. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
This isn’t the first oddity of the NFL playoffs. In the past, seven-win teams have held wild-card matches.
However, this could soon change.
According to CBS Sports, the NFL will reconsider changing the playoff format this offseason.
Jonathan Jones of CBS said one proposal is to award the top four teams based on winning percentage in home games, instead of automatically awarding them to division winners.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell listens to a question during a news conference before the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium, February 5, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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If this system were in place this year, it would mean the Lions, Vikings, Eagles and Commanders would host games on the NFC side. For the AFC, that would be the Chiefs, Bills, Ravens and Chargers.
The Commanders and Chargers are on the road this weekend against the Buccaneers and Texans respectively, as the latter two teams won the NFC and AFC South divisions.
Jones later added, however, that team owners had not shown “much appetite” to change the format.
Before winning the division, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown suggested a change.
“Obviously, if you win the division, obviously you should make the playoffs, but having a 14-win team forced to go on the road is kind of crazy. But I guess I don’t make the rules,” he said. he declared at the time.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell listens to a question during a news conference before the Super Bowl, Feb. 8, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The last time the playoff format was changed was before the 2020 season, when it went from 12 to 14 teams. This allowed only one team in each conference to receive a first-round bye, instead of two. This also led to six wild-card matches, instead of four.
