TheGodInAGreyHoodie

Twenty teams still have a chance to make the playoffs. Also not a single division is locked up and only three teams know they are going to the playoffs.

I don't recall there ever being a season with this much uncertainly after 15 weeks. The change to have more division games late seems to have had the desired affect.

This is good for the sport.

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mgcolby

This looked like it was shaping up to be a great end of the season a few weeks ago, and it certainly hasn't dissapointed. I do wonder if the schedule trully affected this or is it a case of not really having two or three dominant teams in each conference.

My guess is it is a combination of both. The AFC East has the Jets and Pats, the North has the even closer Ravens and Steelers. The west had the Chargers get off to a slow start and Chiefs have a breakout season. The South had the Colts go through an uncharacteristic 3 game losing streak. And that is just in the AFC. The schedule having so many division games left to be played over the final three/four weeks has definitely enhanced the situation. But I'm not sure that we can expect this to be the case every year, or at least not to this degree. Either way it is great and I hope I'm wrong. I would love it to be like this every year.

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TrueBeliever

I concur. Some people complain that under the current system we play the Colts every year, but that's just the luck of the draw.

Other people complain that all the parity means there's "less quality" football, but I'd rather have a system like this instead of having it like it used to be - i.e. there's two or three teams likely to win the Super Bowl and the rest are just also-rans. That's why I hate MLB (one of several reasons, actually.)

Seriously, in the mid-'90s, only three teams had ever reached the playoffs as a wild card and gone all the way to the Super Bowl. I couldn't even tell you how many have done it now.

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AtivanPatsFan

Indeed. Watching a variety of meaningful games at the end of the season is much better than just "waiting" for the playoffs to start.

With that said, it may also be (in this particular season especially) that there is no top 3 or 4 teams that are head-and-shoulders above every other team in the league.

In any event, more meaningful games equals a better product so I hope the trend continues.

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Metaphors

Agree that it is a good idea since division record is a high tiebreaker. However, this year is kind of an anomaly in that all the division leaders have a comparable team chasing them. Doesn't matter if the leaders are 12-2, 10-4, 8-6 or 6-8. I think that is just happenstance and not anything to do with scheduling.

Slightly OT but if the divisions continue to separate like they have recently, something may need to be done. The Pats missed the playoffs in 2008 with an 11-5 record (only a couple of bounces of the ball prevented a situation where the Pats could have tied for the best record in the NFL at 12-4 and STILL missed the playoffs) and I believe it is possible this year for four teams to miss the playoffs with 10 wins...while a .500 or below team from the NFC West is guaranteed a home playoff game.

Jackson 2

Agreed......

TheGodInAGreyHoodie

I think it is more the scheduling. The league does have two 12-2 teams and not a single 11-3 team. I call that 2 teams that is head and shoulders above the rest. In any other year those two 12-2 teams would the division and likely a bye locked up.

We may not like every change Goodell has made (or even most of them) but this was a good change.

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mgcolby

I agree, a sub 500 team should not get in, I don't think it has ever happened but it sure is a real possibility this year. I'm not one to clamor for rule changes such as the current favorite of taking away the home game for division winners with lesser records than the wildcard teams. But, no team in the NFL should get into the playoffs with a sub 500 record. This isn't the NBA or NHL where half the teams get in.

Even though it isn't a typical event, the NFL really should implement a rule that prevents a sub 500 division winner from getting in over the team with the 6th best record if the team with the 6th best record is 8-8 or better. If the division winner makes it to 8-8 so be it, but 7-9 or worse...send them home.

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Deus Irae

It's coincidental. The better teams are in the same divisions, and the lesser teams are also in the same divisions.

Patriots/Jets
Ravens/Steelers

Giants/Eagles
Saints/Falcons

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Rob0729

I think it has to do with no dominant teams. Going into this week last year, there was still an undefeated team. You have the NFC West where there may be a division winner with 6-7 wins (no more than 8) at this point.

I don't think it has anything to do with pushing division games to the end. If the Pats had already locked up the division tiebreaker, they still wouldn't have the division locked up right now. Same things goes for every other AFC division.

Parity has more to do with it rather than the schedule.