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The Kansas City Chiefs will have another team to deal with if they hope to repeat as Super Bowl champions next season. The NFL announced today that officially 14 teams would be able to qualify for the postseason after clubs voted on the agreement.
The addition of two teams in the postseason was addressed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was recently agreed upon by the NFL and NFLPA. Two additional Wild Card team’s, one in each conference will qualify for the next season’s playoffs. The top seed in each conference will receive a bye in the Wild Card round. The new format eliminates the first-round bye for the second-seeded teams from each conference.
The other division champions of each conference via their overall records will be seeded 2, 3, and 4. The wild card teams per conference with the best records are slated to be seeded 5, 6, and 7, respectively. Wild Card Weekend for the upcoming season will show three games on Saturday, January 9, and three games on Sunday, January 10, 2021.
Last year, the Chiefs were ironically a No. 2 seed that benefitted from the bye week. They wouldn’t have that luxury moving forward under the new system. The emphasis on teams needing to secure the top seed in the conference has never been higher and should limit late-season resting of starters.
In addition to the new rules changes, the NFL announced that television networks CBS and NBC will broadcast the new wildcard games, including a special kids simulcast of a game on Nickelodeon.
The additional two teams and revamped format should energize Wild Card Weekend even more and increase late-season battles. The Chiefs Kingdom will be revitalized for the quest to repeat as the league continues to work toward expanding its viewership.
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