Was the playoffs expansion worth it?

[August4th]

Did the colts almost beat the bills last yr as a 7th seed?  I think LAC could of given a better game than the steelers but seeding did not fall their way. I'm fine with the 7th seed, its not that big of deal to me. Don't have to watch the 7th vs 2nd seed games

Edited January 17, 2022 by August4th

[lancerman]

It’s good for the NFL, but even before the expanded playoffs teams were getting in that had no shot 

[CriminalMind]

I mean the 2nd seed has always been significantly better then the 6th/7th seed. Nothing is suprising there. 
 

But 3/4/5/6 were always closer
 

 

[Forge]

Some years it will be worth it, some years it won't. I feel like this year we just happened to get the worst possible run out with regards to who got the 7 seeds

[squire12]

Unless the NFL loses money, it is worth it.

 

Would have been awesome for the SF vs Dallas game to have been the Manning cast.  How Peyton and Eli might have reacted to that game is a missed opportunity 

[DontTazeMeBro]

Yes because the 2 seed doesn’t deserve a 1st round bye. 
 

And they didn’t do it for us. For them I’m 100% sure it was worth it.

[incognito_man]

Ye$

[HerbertGOAT]

A 1 year sample size is nowhere near enough to make a judgement. Just because the Steelers stumbled *** backwards into the playoffs, and the Eagles made the playoffs without beating a single team with a winning record doesn't mean the 7 seeds will be this week every year. Besides, the 7 seeds also ended up playing against the 2 teams who were just in the Super Bowl last year. So take that for what it's worth. 

[SkippyX]

Go to 16 teams and no byes.

No one deserves a bye for going 5-1 or 6-0 in their crappy division and then winning a tiebreaker.

[Apparition]

I don't see it as becoming justified until a 7 seed beats a 2 seed in the WC round. Until then, I'll see it purely as a money grab.

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

For the Fans: No.

For the NFL: Yes.

[checkcola]

It's a money deal only. 

[Jakuvious]

I don't really care either way, honestly. I'm fine with it. I do like more football. I think people overreact a little bit to the results of the games this year, though. This will very much be something that varies year to year, on whether there actually should be 7 playoff teams in either conference. Last year, the AFC absolutely justified that 7th spot. We would've had an 11-5 miss the postseason last year otherwise. Other years where quality 10-6 teams have wound up missing out as #7. But there will also be years that the 7th team in line is a complete joke. But this isn't new. This has already been the case with 6 seeds. It's already been the case with 4 seeds, even, with weak divisions. It really doesn't make a substantial difference to me. I'm very slightly salty that we didn't have a bye this year, but that really isn't a flaw in the format.

[RaisinBran]

It's worth keeping. Look at the Chargers...didn't make the playoffs, but It would have been a much more competitive game to see them in there instead of the Steelers. There will be years where a mediocre team sneaks in but there will also be years where a really good team gets that #7 spot that had to deal with injuries, for example. There were a lot of injuries this year that caused good teams to miss the playoffs that would be filling in that #7 spot. Ravens and Chargers come to mind.