Chargers ask for rule change to tweak playoff home-field rules

The Chargers want to create an exception that would allow wild-card teams to host division winners in certain circumstances.

The Los Angeles Chargers finished the 2022 season with a better record than the Jacksonville Jaguars, but were the road team in a Wild Card Weekend matchup.

Now the Chargers are aiming to add an exception to the rulebook that would allow a path for a wild-card team to host a division winner.

In a rule proposal that will be voted on by owners later this offseason, the Chargers want to add an exception that would strip home-field advantage from a division winner if they are below .500 and finish at least four games behind their playoff opponent.

It’s worth nothing that that’s an exception that would’ve had no bearing on the playoff game in Jacksonville a couple months ago. While the Chargers finished with a better record than the Jaguars, it was just a one-game difference and Jacksonville finished above .500 at 9-8 on the year.

In fact, it’s an exception that would’ve mattered just three times in NFL history.

The 2010 Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7-9 record and played host to the 11-5 New Orleans Saints. That Seahawks won that game with Marshawn Lynch’s game-clinching Beast Quake touchdown run.

A decade later, the 2020 Washington Football Team also won a division with a 7-9 record and hosted the 11-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The visiting team won and eventually beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

This season, the Buccaneers snuck into the playoffs with an 8-9 record and hosted the 12-5 Dallas Cowboys. The visiting Cowboys won by 17 points before losing in the Divisional Round.

The only other divisional winner with a losing record was the 2014 Carolina Panthers, but that team finished just 3.5 games behind the Arizona Cardinals.

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Here’s Jacksonville’s home-field advantage in Madden 22

Here’s how the “DUUUVAL” home-field advantage mechanism will work in Madden NFL 22.

The newest iteration of EA Sports’ “Madden NFL” franchise is set to release next month, and one of the new features in the video game is a home-field advantage mechanism for each NFL team. By meeting specific criteria, players will get a bonus while using the home team.

For the Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field, that advantage is aptly named “DUUUVAL,” and it allows players to gain bonus momentum after scoring a touchdown.

Some of the home-field advantage systems make more sense than others. For example, Denver’s “Mile High” gives away team players less stamina and Seattle’s “The 12s” makes opponent play art squiggly.

Jacksonville isn’t exactly known for having the most intense gameday environment, but the fanbase definitely feeds off the momentum of the team (as was demonstrated by their 2017 campaign), so this bonus makes some sense.

Fans will have the opportunity to virtually play as Trevor Lawrence in a Jaguars uniform for the first time when the game releases on Aug. 16, two days after the Jags’ first preseason bout against the Cleveland Browns.

NFC playoff scenarios: How Seahawks can clinch 1st-round bye Week 17

A look at what the Seattle Seahawks will have to do to clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs following their win of the NFC West in 2020.

The Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West division title on Sunday with a victory over the Rams at Lumen Field. Despite the change to the playoff structure this season, Seattle still has a slim chance at a first-round bye.

To secure the first-round bye, the Seahawks would need a win against the 49ers in Week 17 AND a loss from the Packers AND a loss or tie by the Saints.

Here’s a look at the rest of the playoff scenarios in the NFC this week.

ARIZONA CARDINALS at L.A. Rams

Arizona clinches playoff berth with:

  1. ARI win OR
  2. ARI tie + CHI loss

CHICAGO BEARS vs. Green Bay

Chicago clinches playoff berth with:

  1. CHI win OR
  2. ARI loss OR
  3. CHI tie + ARI tie

DALLAS COWBOYS at N.Y. Giants

Dallas clinches NFC East division title with:

  1. DAL win + WAS loss or tie OR
  2. DAL tie + WAS loss

GREEN BAY PACKERS at Chicago

Green Bay clinches the first-round bye with:

  1. GB win or tie OR
  2. SEA loss or tie

LOS ANGELES RAMS vs. Arizona

Los Angeles clinches playoff berth with:

  1. LAR win or tie OR
  2. CHI loss or tie

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS at Carolina

New Orleans clinches the first-round bye with:

  1. NO win + GB loss + SEA win

NEW YORK GIANTS vs. Dallas

New York clinches NFC East division title with:

  1. NYG win + WAS loss

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS at San Francisco

Seattle clinches the first-round bye with:

  1. SEA win + GB loss + NO loss or tie

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM at Philadelphia

Washington clinches NFC East division title with:

  1. WAS win OR
  2. WAS tie + DAL loss or tie

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Did an atmosphere without fans impact Seahawks’ win in Atlanta?

Many NFL teams are playing in empty stadiums due to the coronavirus; did an atmosphere without fans impact the Seahawks’ win in Atlanta?

The Seattle Seahawks beat the Atlanta Falcons on the road Week 1 and they did it in a stadium without fans. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most NFL teams are playing in front of no audiences for at least the first few games of the season. So is there any truth to home-field advantage?

Coach Pete Carroll talked about the atmosphere and notching a win at an empty Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.

“It was different but it didn’t matter – it didn’t matter to the game,” coach Pete Carroll said during his press conference after the win. “You know, like I say, we were on the road and we didn’t have a crowd screaming at us, either, but like way back when, I always felt like this was going to work out okay because the guys don’t really – they don’t play for the fans on game day. They play the game the way they are supposed to, and there was enough juice and energy there that, you know, it was really fun.”

Granted the “crowd noise” that was pumped into the stadium and broadcast made a huge difference to the viewing audience but Carroll and the players were just glad to be back on the field and playing the game of football.

“It was really a fun game, and locker room was cool before the game, at halftime and after the game, you know, all that good stuff that we love to — we share all the energy, the build up of the game and the finish,” Carroll continued. “It was all there. It’s more exciting, I guess, there’s more atmosphere, of course, but when these guys are playing, they have got to go. The competition on the field was really, really good, both sides.”

The Seahawks will get their next shot to play in front of an empty stadium when they return home Week 2 to face the Patriots for “Sunday Night Football” at CenturyLink Field. Perhaps Seattle will realize just how important the 12s are when the Seahawks take on Cam Newton in primetime.

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Kyle Shanahan says home field advantage exists like ‘global warming,’ ahead of 49ers hosting Vikings

Heading into the mid-day Saturday playoff game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is comparing home-field advantage to global warming ahead of San Francisco (12-3) hosting the Minnesota Vikings (11-6) Saturday.

Heading into the mid-day Saturday playoff game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is comparing home-field advantage to global warming ahead of San Francisco (12-3) hosting the Minnesota Vikings (11-6) Saturday.

Kyle Shanahan says home field advantage exists like ‘global warming,’ ahead of 49ers hosting Vikings

Heading into the mid-day Saturday playoff game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is comparing home-field advantage to global warming ahead of San Francisco (12-3) hosting the Minnesota Vikings (11-6) Saturday.

Heading into the mid-day Saturday playoff game, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is comparing home-field advantage to global warming ahead of San Francisco (12-3) hosting the Minnesota Vikings (11-6) Saturday.

Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers: Week 17 keys to victory

The keys to victory for both the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers as the two teams square off Sunday night for the NFC West crown.

The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers will meet Week 17 for the final game of the regular season to determine who heads to the playoffs as the winner of the NFC West. Here are the keys to victory for both teams.

49ers’ keys to victory: The 49ers stamped an impressive win over the Rams in Week 16 to knock Los Angeles out of the playoffs and remain atop of the NFC West. With a victory in Seattle on Sunday, San Francisco could ensure a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

However, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and Co. have to get by the Seahawks in the very unfriendly confines of CenturyLink Field first. To do so, the 49ers must exploit Seattle’s depleted defense, who will be doing everything in its power to get to the quarterback. 

The 49ers will also now have to account for the additions of running backs Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin, who Seattle signed to boost the run game.

2019 NFL playoff scenarios for Week 17: How the AFC and NFC stack up

A look at the 2019 NFL playoff scenarios for the Seattle Seahawks and the rest of the league heading into the final week of the season.

The Seattle Seahawks have clinched a spot in this year’s playoffs and still have the chance to win the division with a victory over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night.

Here’s a look at how the rest of the teams in the AFC and NFC stack up for the final week of the regular season, per NFL Communications.

AFC

CLINCHED:

Baltimore Ravens – AFC North division and home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs

Houston Texans – AFC South division

Kansas City Chiefs – AFC West division

New England Patriots – AFC East division

Buffalo Bills – playoff berth

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (11-4) vs. L.A. Chargers (5-10)

Kansas City clinches a first-round bye with:

  1. KC win + NE loss

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (12-3) vs. Miami (4-11)

New England clinches a first-round bye with:

  1. NE win or tie OR
  2. KC loss or tie

OAKLAND RAIDERS (7-8) at Denver (6-9)

Oakland clinches a playoff berth with:

  1. OAK win + PIT loss + TEN loss + IND win + OAK clinches strength-of-victory tiebreaker over PIT*

*OAK clinches strength-of-victory tiebreaker over PIT if ONE of the following teams win or tie:

CHI, DET, LAC OR NE

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (8-7) at Baltimore (13-2)

Pittsburgh clinches a playoff berth with:

  1. PIT win + TEN loss or tie OR
  2. PIT tie + TEN loss OR
  3. TEN loss + IND win + OAK loss or tie OR
  4. TEN loss + IND win + PIT ties OAK in strength-of-victory tiebreaker*

*PIT ties OAK in strength-of-victory tiebreaker if ALL of the following teams win:

MIN, GB, KC AND MIA

TENNESSEE TITANS (8-7) at Houston (10-5)

Tennessee clinches a playoff berth with:

  1. TEN win OR
  2. TEN tie + PIT loss or tie OR
  3. PIT loss + IND loss or tie