The Minnesota Vikings are tied for the second-best record in the NFC this year, but their first playoff game will be on the road.
That’s because the only team ahead of them is the Detroit Lions (15-2), who won the NFC North with a win over Minnesota in Week 18.
The Lions earned a first-place finish and a bye, while the Vikings head to Arizona to face the Los Angeles Rams. The game was originally scheduled for Los Angeles, but was postponed due to wildfires.
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The NFL shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on November 25, 2024. (Kirby Lee/Image Images)
It’s not the first oddity in the NFL playoffs. In the past, teams with seven wins have hosted wild-card round games.
However, that could change soon.
According to CBS Sports, the NFL will again consider changing the playoff format this offseason.
CBS’ Jonathan Jones said one proposal is to give it to the top four teams based on winning percentage in home games, rather than automatically giving them to the division winners.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell listens to a question during a pre-Super Bowl news conference at Allegiant Stadium on February 5, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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If that system were in place this year, it would mean the Lions, Vikings, Eagles and Commanders would host games on the NFC side. For the AFC, it would be the Chiefs, Bills, Ravens and Chargers.
The Commanders and Chargers will be on the road this weekend against the Buccaneers and Texans, respectively, because the latter two teams won the NFC and AFC South divisions.
However, Jones later added that team owners have not shown “much appetite” to change the format.
Before winning the division, Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown suggested a trade.
“Obviously, if you win the division, obviously you should get a playoff spot, but having a 14-win team having to go on the road is kind of crazy. But I guess I don’t make the rules,” he said at the time.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell listens to a question during a pre-Super Bowl news conference on Feb. 8, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The last time the playoff format was changed was before the 2020 season, when it was expanded from 12 to 14 teams. That resulted in only one team in each conference receiving a first-round bye instead of two. It also led to six wild card round games, instead of four.
