The NFL and NFLPA are closing in on an agreement for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Under the new proposed CBA, the NFL would see the playoff pool expanded from 12 teams to 14 teams. They would also only have one team in each conference with a first-round bye. That means that the No. 2 seed wouldn’t have significant meaning anymore, and a total of six games would be played on wild-card weekend.
During the 2019 playoffs, the Chiefs would have seen a much different route to reach Super Bowl LIV. Fans would no longer have experienced the excitement in the final week of the regular season when the Dolphins upset the Patriots. That game wouldn’t have had the same meaning for Kansas City. Instead, the Chiefs would have been playing on wild-card weekend no matter the outcome, the win simply meant they’d play against the lowest-seeded team. In this case, the Chiefs would have played the 8-8 Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium.
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While Duck Hodges and the Steelers wouldn’t exactly have been a scary opponent for the Chiefs, the prospect of playing an extra game in place of the bye week could be significant. That’s one more chance where a key player can get injured. The proposed changes increase the importance of securing the No. 1 seed in the conference. At the same time, it severely devalues what it means to be a No. 2 seed.
How do you feel about the new proposed playoff changes? Do you think the Chiefs would have still made it to Super Bowl LIV under the new system? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter and the Chiefs Wire forums.
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