This is the first year with the NFL’s expanded 18-week season, and it’s already created one of the stranger scenarios we’ll see in an NFL playoff race.
In the days leading up to Week 18, it became clear that the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers could find themselves in the most unusual of spots. They were scheduled as the Sunday Night Football game — the last game of the regular season. So, with a Colts loss to the lowly Jaguars and a Steelers win, the two teams would need a tie to ensure that both teams reached the playoffs. A tie. That was it. Why risk it and lose?
A lot needed to happen, but it was enough to have Chargers coach Brandon Staley answering questions about it. After all, this entire path depended on the Jaguars winning, which wasn’t something that happened often.
So, of course that exact scenario played out on Sunday with the Jaguars and Steelers both winning — meaning the NFL has two teams that could take a bunch of knees, tie and make the playoffs.
That season finale though#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/VCyKCdxHRC
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) January 9, 2022
This all could have been avoided with a simple and honestly awesome change: Play every Week 18 game in the 4 p.m. Eastern Time window.
Think about it. Instead of having teams potentially playing for a tie, the NFL could take a page from the Premier League and let the entire final day of the season play out simultaneously. You’d go with the 4 p.m. start for every game to make sure that teams aren’t kicking off at 10 a.m. local time.
Just as that setup led to one of the iconic moments in all of sports with Manchester City’s title in 2012, it would take away any chance of gamesmanship as all the moving parts and playoff scenarios would remain fluid at the same time.
In a sense, it’s surprising the NFL hasn’t gone this route yet. Major League Baseball does it with its final day of the regular season, and it created some excellent last-minute scoreboard watching. It would make for an epic yearly finale for the RedZone channel too, which could give us 16 boxes on one screen. Who wouldn’t want to see that?
It would be a hectic day for Scott Hanson, sure, but what a day it would be for the rest of us.
Again, if the NFL really wants to avoid a scenario that incentivizes teams to collude for playoff spots, it should move Week 18 to one window. Let fans enjoy the chaos simultaneously and keep every game competitive.
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