Potential impact on NFL playoffs: Jets, Commanders, Saints back in mix

The NFL is still trying to figure out how to proceed after Monday night’s game between the Bills and the Bengals was canceled due to Dumar Hamlin’s on-field cardiac arrest.

On Thursday, the NFL’s competition committee came up with a series of scenarios to explain the lack of a game between two of the three contenders for the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed. Those scenarios will be voted on by his 32 NFL teams at a special league meeting on Friday.

ProFootballTalk discussed the concept of expanding the AFC and NFC playoff fields from seven to eight teams to alleviate the challenge of determining the AFC’s top seed should the Bills Bengals not play. Adding an eighth playoff team to each conference isn’t being discussed, but to do so would require an eighth team player and a bye, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said on Thursday’s conference call. , received additional rewards for being the No. 1 seed.

If the NFL expands its playoffs this season, the three teams currently out of playoff contention (the AFC’s Jets, the NFC’s Commanders and Saints) will again have a shot at the postseason.

Let’s take a closer look at how things rock.

current playoff team

Entering Week 18, there are 11 NFL teams that have qualified for the playoffs in a 7-team postseason format. If the NFL chose to expand the field to eight teams in each conference, so be it.

AFC

division win

Decided to advance to the playoffs

NFC

division win

Decided to advance to the playoffs

The current postseason format has eight teams vying for the three remaining playoff spots. The Jaguars, Patriots, Dolphins, Steelers and Titans vie for two AFC spots, while the Seahawks, Lions and Packers vie for one NFC spot.

Newly Eligible Teams in 8-Team Playoff Format

With the NFL postseason format expanded to include eight teams from each conference, three teams previously eliminated in the seven-team format have a chance to qualify for the playoffs this weekend.

AFC

NFC

• Commander (7-8-1)
• Saints (7-9)

That means a total of 11 teams will be competing for five unclaimed playoff spots. Six AFC teams are competing for three spots, and five NFC teams are competing for two spots.

Opportunity to qualify for playoffs with 8 teams

Below are the chances for each of these 11 teams to qualify for the playoffs in the expanded 8-team postseason format.the odds are athleticA betting model for created by Austin Mock.

(Photo: Ken Blaise/USA Today)