Smile!
 

I need to take a photo of that score.

I would like to see them go to two divisions in each conference. That would all but eliminate teams like Washington getting in.

A few years ago, The Patriots wen't 11-5 and were not in the playoffs because an 8-8 team won their division.

I agree that it's possible for a wild card team to win the Super Bowl and is has happened a few times. My idea is not to take out the wild card teams, it's to make sure that the best teams are in the playoffs.

Here's another interesting thing to consider.

In match play golf, and tournaments like NCAA Basketball, brackets are set up so that teams know who they are going to play. Teams are seeded and placed into a bracket. If the second to last place team beats the second place team, they basically take over that teams spot in the seedings.

Take a look at this 8 team golf match play bracket.

https://i.imgur.com/SsrCxl6.png

You'll notice that, after the first round, the highest seeded player or team doesn't play the lowest. If a lower seed beats a higher seed, they are rewarded by taking over that higher seed's position.

In the NFL, if the number seven seed beats the number two seed, they remain the number seven seed.

In golf that number seven seed would then effectively become the number two seed. They are rewarded for their victory.

This would eliminate the "if team A wins they play, but if they lose then team B goes to team D and team A plays but if team A loses......etc.. etc".

As I said, golf has been using this for centuries and the NCAA and other sports organizations use it.

Just something to think about especially since the four division winners are automatically the top for seeds. Did Tampa Bay really deserve to the the #5 seed? Shouldn't they have been #4.

The #6 seed Browns beat the #3 seeded Steelers. Shouldn't that count for something?

In short, the NFL has made a mess out of what should be a very simple system.

Don’t know happened to the Steelers who started 11-0 then seemed to just fall apart. For the past several weeks they have stated off very slow. In this game same thing. It was clear the Brown’s came to play and by the time the Steelers woke up it was to late. The Brown’s deserved to win and I’m happy for their fans.

Sounds like the Stanley Cup to me.

The funny thing here is Steeler fans being shocked that they were rolled over again in playoffs , we Patriots fans have been watching them do it for years

My 20 year old grandson is crushed.

Depends upon your point of view, the NFL is a marketing and sports entertainment company. They want certain outcomes to get what they think provides the best story lines for matchups. What you just described keeps conversation, controversy and competition fodder for all the talking heads, the fans, etc.

A long time referee was on a local web site, and he typed out, during the lockout a couple bunches of years ago, and he said that the NFL wants certain outcomes, and the referees help out the best they can.

If you watch games closely enough, you can see the referees favoring one team over the other. Of course the better team will win most of the time, but who does the NFL want to see in the playoffs? a new guy with a team which hasn't made the playoff in years, or an old guy with several titles, thinking of retiring? if the first play of the game was so obviously a favor, i don't know what is. Me thinks the same as labronne james who can't hit a basket to save his life one night in the playoffs, to lose and then the next night, scores 50 for the playoff win . .. just more games to see, collect revenue, and discuss

So good dr, you aren't quite in the sports entertainment camp yet, are you?

Regarding the Steelers ,Big Ben is done . To slow, no athleticism.Regarding referee's, don't understand the call on the Pascal fumble in the Bills game, obvious fumble on all the replay angles . Rules expert on the telecast stated fumble. Why have replays. Oh well "Go Bills"

Please take that message to one
 

Of those online conspiracy sites . All the games are fixed , oh yeh and the moon landing was really filmed in a studio