NFL officially expands playoffs to 14 teams in 2020, which helps Rams

The Rams would’ve gotten into the playoffs under the new, approved format.

A decision that was expected has now been made official. NFL owners voted on Tuesday to approve the league’s new playoff format, which expands the field to include one additional team in each conference.

That means there will be 14 teams in the playoffs each year moving forward, with three wild cards and four division winners in the NFC and AFC. The new format was proposed in the recently ratified collective bargaining agreement, which runs for 10 years.

This is good news for teams that have struggled to win their divisions, but it’s especially beneficial for every team in the NFC West. There’s no doubt it’s been the best division in football over the last decade, and it’s only getting better.

The 49ers are the reigning NFC champions after reaching Super Bowl LIV, while the Seahawks also made the postseason. The Rams were the best team to miss the playoffs at 9-7, and Arizona showed plenty of promise under the leadership of Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray.

After Arizona added DeAndre Hopkins and retained Kenyan Drake, it’s looking like an even bigger threat in the NFC West for 2020 and beyond.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see three NFC West teams finish above .500 again next season, with the potential for all four to get to that mark. This isn’t to say all of them will make the playoffs, but there’s a decent chance three of the four could get in.

Of course, the Rams would rather not flirt with a wild-card berth and would prefer to win the division outright for the third time in four years, but they’re now granted the added benefit of an extra team being in the playoff field.

If this format were put in place last season, the Rams would’ve gotten in as the No. 7 seed, setting up a meeting with the second-seeded Packers in the wild-card round. In the new expanded playoff system, only the No. 1 seed gets a first-round bye.