Here is your yearly reminder that the NFL playoff format sucks.
The winner of the NFL East will get rewarded for being a bad team in the league’s weakest division.
The Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Washington Football Team all have three wins after 10 games. The Eagles have the slight edge with a lone tie.
In fact, there is only one team in the rest of the conference that is that bad — the Atlanta Falcons. The 11 other teams all have four wins or more.
Here’s the catch. The winner of this terrible — if not embarrassing — division will get a home playoff game.
If the divisional winners are guaranteed a playoff game, fine, but they shouldn’t be rewarded with a home playoff game as well.
It pains me that every league doesn’t just seed teams based on their regular-season records. This year in the NFL, it would be one through seven.
The NFL isn’t alone. The NHL, CFL and Major League Baseball all make the mistake. The NBA has the closest thing to the best playoff format.