Does the NFL Playoffs Reseed?

If you’re a football fan, you’re probably wondering how the NFL playoffs work. Will the better teams always make it to the playoffs? Does the NFL reseed the playoffs?

What are the NFL Playoffs?

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major North American sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world, the wealthiest professional sport league by revenue, and the sport league with the most valuable teams. The regular season runs from September to December, with each team playing 16 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, six teams from each conference (four division winners and two wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, which is usually held on the first Sunday in February and is played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

How are the NFL Playoffs Seeded?

The NFL Playoffs are not reseeded after the Wild Card round. The divisional winners are seeded 1-3 based on their record, with the #1 seed going to the team with the best record. The Wild Card teams are seeded 4-5 based on their record, regardless of whether they are division winners or not.

How are the Wild Card Teams Seeded?

The NFL playoffs are not reseeded. The team that has the better record will be seeded higher than the team with the worse record, regardless of division.

How are the Divisional Round Teams Seeded?

The four Divisional Round playoff games are always played on Saturday and Sunday, with the top seed in each conference hosting the lowest-seeded Wild Card team. The second seed in each conference then hosts the other Wild Card team. The winners of those four games advance to the Conference Championships the following weekend.

The NFL Divisional Round playoff games are always played on Saturday and Sunday, with the top seed in each conference hosting the lowest-seeded Wild Card team. The second seed in each conference then hosts the other Wild Card team. The winners of those four games advance to the Conference Championships the following weekend.

How are the Conference Championships Seeded?

The Conference Championships are the penultimate round of the playoffs. The top seed from each conference will host the lowest remaining seed from their conference, while the second seed will host the other remaining team. For example, if the Pittsburgh Steelers (the AFC’s #1 seed) and the New England Patriots (the AFC’s #6 seed) win in the Divisional Playoffs, they would face each other in the Conference Championship.

How is the Super Bowl Seeded?

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A tie-breaking procedure exists if required. The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl, its championship game.

Does the NFL Playoffs Reseed?

The NFL playoffs are one of the most exciting times of the year. Every team is vying for a chance to win the Super Bowl, and the matchups are always interesting. But does the NFL playoffs reseed? Let’s find out.

What is Reseeding?

In the NFL, reseeding is the process of re-ordering the playoff teams so that the wild card team with the best record plays against the worst divisional winner, and so on. The purpose of reseeding is to create the most fair and balanced matchups possible, so that the best teams have the best chance to advance to the Super Bowl.

The current format, which has been in place since 2002, reseeds teams after each round of playoffs. The four divisional winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the wild card team with the best record seeded 5th. The other wild card team is seeded 6th. In the first round of playoffs, the 1 seed hosts the 6 seed, while the 2 seed hosts the 5 seed. The 3 seed hosts the 4 seed. Then, in the second round of playoffs, also known as the divisional round,the top remaining seed hoststhe lowest remaining seed. The other two remaining teams play each other.

For example, in 2020 under this format,
the 1 seed (Kansas City Chiefs) would host themost recent6 seed (Cleveland Browns),
while thesecond overall2 seed (New Orleans Saints) would host themost recent5 seed (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
The3 seed (Pittsburgh Steelers) would host thesecond recent4 seed (Buffalo Bills), and
thesecond recent5seed (Seattle Seahawks) would travel to playthesecond recent6seed (Los Angeles Rams).

What are the Pros and Cons of Reseeding?

The NFL playoffs are one of the most hotly contested events in all of sports. But every year, there are calls to change the way the playoffs are seeded. Some people want to see the playoff field reseeded after each round, while others want to see divisional winners guaranteed a spot in the postseason.

So what are the pros and cons of reseeding the NFL playoffs? Let’s take a look.

#PROS

-More Fairness: One of the biggest arguments in favor of reseeding is that it would create a more fair and balanced playoff field. Under the current system, divisional winners are often rewarded with an easier path to the Super Bowl, while teams that have to play in Wild Card games often have a significantly tougher road.

-More Excitement: Another argument in favor of reseeding is that it would create more excitement and intrigue throughout the playoffs. Under the current system, there’s often very little drama in the divisional round, as it’s typically just four groups of teams playing each other that have already met earlier in the season. But if the playoff field were reseeded after each round, there would be far more potential for upsets and thrilling finishes.

#CONS

-Less Tradition: One of the biggest arguments against reseeding is that it would take away from some of the tradition and history of the NFL playoffs. The current system has been in place for many years, and some fans like it just the way it is. Reseeding would be a major change to a time-honored tradition.

-Less Parity: Another argument against reseeding is that it could potentially lead to less parity in the NFL overall. Under the current system, divisional winners are often rewarded with an easier path to the playoffs. But if playoff spots were simply awarded to the 16 best teams regardless of divisional record, then it would be much harder for small market or non-traditional football powers to make noise in January.

What Would Reseeding Look Like?

In a reseeded system, the divisional playoff matchups would be as follows:

-AFC #1 seed vs. AFC #6 seed
-AFC #2 seed vs. AFC #5 seed
-AFC #3 seed vs. AFC #4 seed
-NFC #1 seed vs. NFC #6 seed
-NFC #2 seed vs. NFC #5 seed
-NFC #3 seed vs. NFC #4 seed

In the current system, it’s possible for two divisional opponents to meet in the Wild Card round if both teams finish with identical records and are slotted into Wild Card positions. In a reseeded system, that scenario would be impossible because divisional opponents can never meet until the conference championship game.

Conclusion

Yes, the NFL playoffs reseed every year. The top seed in each conference gets a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The two remaining division winners in each conference are seeded 2-3 based on their record, with the better team getting the higher seed. The two wild card teams in each conference are seeded 4-5 based on their record, with the better team getting the higher seed.