Tag: nfl playoff format

NFL clubs approve 14 team playoff expansion for 2020 season

The NFL owners approved an expansion of the NFL postseason to include 14 team playoff teams for the upcoming 2020 season.

The NFL owners approved an expansion of the NFL postseason to include 14 team playoff teams for the upcoming 2020 season.

Expanding the pool of teams was part of the approved changes in the recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, was then recommended to be put in place this year by the NFL Competition Committee, and today (via teleconference vote), the NFL owners approved the decision.

Here is the full statement from the NFL:

NFL clubs voted today to expand the postseason by two teams beginning with the 2020 season.

Expanding the NFL postseason was addressed in the new NFL-NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Players and clubs both recognized that nothing energizes fans like the chance to see their team qualify for the playoffs and compete for the Super Bowl.

Today’s vote during a league meeting held remotely follows the recommendation of the Competition Committee, Management Council Executive Committee and Media Committee on increasing the number of playoff teams from 12 to 14.

Two additional Wild Card teams – one each in the American and National Football Conferences – will qualify for the playoffs. The No. 1 seed in each conference will receive a bye in the Wild Card round. The remaining division champions in each conference with the best records will be seeded 2, 3, and 4, followed by the next three teams per conference with the best records seeded 5, 6, and 7.

AFC and NFC Wild Card games will feature the 2 seed hosting the 7 seed, the 3 seed hosting the 6 seed and the 4 seed hosting the 5 seed.

Wild Card Weekend for the 2020 season will consist of three games on Saturday, January 9, and three games on Sunday, January 10, 2021. ​

CBS will broadcast one additional Wild Card game on January 10 with kickoff at approximately 4:40 p.m. ET. The game will also be available via a livestream on CBS All Access. Additionally, as part of CBS’ coverage, a separately produced telecast of the game will air on Nickelodeon, tailored for a younger audience.

NBC, its new streaming service Peacock, as well as Telemundo will all broadcast an additional Wild Card game on January 10 with kickoff at approximately 8:15 p.m. ET. ​

​The NFL last expanded the playoffs for the 1990 season, increasing from 10 to 12 the number of teams to qualify for the postseason. Since 1990, at least four new teams have qualified for the playoffs that missed the postseason the year before – a streak of 30 consecutive seasons.​

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.

NFL owners vote to approve expanded 14-team playoff format

The NFL’s anticipated playoff expansion officially passed.

NFL team owners approved a plan to expand the playoffs to 14 teams, starting with the 2020 season.

During a conference call to discuss league business after the annual meetings were canceled due to the new coronavirus, the owners also awarded one of those extra games to CBS and one to NBC. Three-fourths of the 32 owners needed to approve the change, and the vote was unanimous.

Only the teams with the best record in the AFC and NFC will get a bye under the new format. In the past, the top two teams in each conference skipped wild card weekend. The seventh seed will play No. 2, the sixth will play No. 3 and the fifth will be at the fourth seed for wild card games.

Three games are set for Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 9-10 — pending the NFL schedule going forward as planned. The schedule likely will be released on May 9.

This marks the first time in 30 years the NFL has expanded the playoffs. They last did it in 1990, going from 10 playoff teams to 12.