There’s an old adage that goes “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Sometimes, nowadays, that seems like a lost art.
The NFL goes over new rule proposals each year, and some of them end up quite unpopular. This time last year, it was the discussions around the “hip-drop tackle” that went through — and while the punishment for that rule ended up being fines instead of penalties, a new rule proposal would have a much bigger effect on the NFL as a whole.
NFL owners are set to vote on two big potential rule changes next week. The first has been a hot topic for a bit — it’s a rule potentially banning the push and pull of players that would halt the Philadelphia Eagles’ famed “tush push.” Another rule, though, could not only re-seed the NFL playoffs by record, but would also re-seed after the completion of the first round, too.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be greatly affected by this rule. The NFC South has been one of the worst divisions in football, and as a result, Tampa Bay has made the playoffs at 9-8 and 10-7 in 2023 and 2024. That latter record still earned it the No. 3 seed and a home game as a reward for winning the division, but under this new rule, the Bucs would have been seeded by record and could potentially play on the road the entire season despite winning their division. Under this format, the Bucs would have been the No. 6 seed in the playoffs instead of the No. 3 seed.
Personally, I think this rule change would be ridiculous. Tampa Bay’s division isn’t strong, sure, but there should absolutely be a reward for being the best team in a division where you play everyone twice. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still managed to knock off a strong Eagles team in 2023, and teams that may seem worse than their visitors should still experience a home game for conquering the first hurdle laid out in front of them.
The NFL added another team to the playoffs and removed a second bye week for the No. 2 seed in 2020. That ended up creating multiple blowouts when the No. 2 seed and No. 7 seed played each other, and this rule change would be equally as unnecessary and would water down an already-strong playoff format.
