Amon-Ra St. Brown Slams NFL’s Postseason Seeding System: “It’s One of the Craziest Rules.”
In Week 18, the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings will compete for the NFC’s No. 1 seed, with the loser dropping to the No. 5 seed in the conference. However, if Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had his way, the stakes wouldn’t be as high for both teams in this matchup.
Every team desires the No. 1 seed for the first-round bye in the Divisional Round and the benefit of home playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl. But this game carries more than just the No. 1 seed. Since the Lions and Vikings share a division, the loser will fall to the No. 5 seed behind the other division winners in the conference.
One of the teams will be playing a road playoff game with a 14-3 record, marking the best record for any No. 5 seed since the NFL shifted to a seven-team playoff format per conference in 2020.
“That’s one of the craziest rules ever,” St. Brown said on the Friday edition of the St. Brown Podcast. “The NFL needs to change it so division winners make the playoffs. After that, best records for seeding. That’s how seeding has got to work. Top four teams get the 1-4 seeds and so on.”
St. Brown’s suggestion seems like the best solution for all parties. All four division winners would still earn automatic playoff berths, preserving the significance of divisional games during the regular season. At the same time, overall records would remain the most important factor in playoff seeding.
Brown’s viewpoint mirrors the ongoing debate over College Football Playoff seeding, where conference champions receive automatic top-four seeds. This system led to situations like the undefeated Oregon Ducks facing Ohio State in the CFP Quarterfinals instead of potentially weaker conference champions like Boise State or Arizona State. Oregon was ultimately eliminated by Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.
On Friday, ESPN’s Heather Dinich reported that a change to the CFP seeding is “unlikely” for next season. However, St. Brown’s proposed shift to NFL playoff seeding could push College Football Playoff stakeholders to reconsider their own seeding practices.
