NFL Realignment Update

Last week was the first time this year, I showed what the playoffs would look like with a simple realignment. Each conference would have two divisions. Each team would play the three other teams in their current division twice and the four new teams in their division once. The AFC East and North would be one division and the South and West would be another. In the NFC, the East and South would be one division and the West and North would be the other.

Here are the updated standings: actual and new. If the playoffs began today, the AFC playoffs would look like this:
Byes: 1) NE 9-2; 2) Den 8-3.
Home playoff games: 3) Cin 7-3-1; 4) Ind 7-4.
Road playoff games: 5) KC 7-4; 6) SD 7-4.

AFC playoffs in the new format:
Byes: 1) NE 9-2; 2) Den 8-3.
Home playoff games: 3) Cin 7-3-1; 4) Pit 7-4.
Road playoff games: 5) Ind 7-4; 6) KC 7-4.

There are six teams in the AFC tied at 7-4. In the NFL, tie-breakers involving three or more teams are essentially come down to conference record, although ties are first broken within the division, which is weird. For the new format, I simply broke the ties with conference record. Pit and Indy are both 6-3 in the conference and since Pit beat Indy, they are in the 4th spot. KC and SD are both 5-3 and KC beat SD earlier this year.

In the NFL's format, Indy has a comfortable lead for the fourth spot because the next best team in their division is 5-6.


If the playoffs began today, the NFC playoffs would look like this:
Byes: 1) Ari 9-2; 2) GB 8-3.
Home playoff games: 3) Phi 8-3; 4) Atl 4-7.
Road playoff games: 5) Dal 8-3; 6) Sea 7-4.

NFC playoffs in the new format:
Byes: 1) Ari 9-2; 2) Phi 8-3.
Home playoff games: 3) GB 8-3; 4) Dal 8-3.
Road playoff games: 5) Sea 7-4; 6) Det 7-4.

The Atlanta situation is embarrassing for the NFL. It simply wouldn't happen in the new format. The NFC shows the vast superiority of the new format.

The GB, Philly, Dal tie was broken by first determining the leader of the East-South division. Philly has a better division record than Dallas. GB has a better conference record than Dal and thus is in the third spot.