NFL’s late-season messiness is one of its best qualities | Opinion
With just one more week left in the regular season, the NFL playoff picture is a mess.
The No. 1 seed, and the all-important home-field advantage that comes with it, is still up for grabs in the AFC and NFC. There are still two playoff spots left to be decided. Only one team has locked in its playoff seed. You’ll need a spreadsheet, a calculator, and all the screens you can find to keep up next weekend.
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It’s chaos. Glorious chaos. And it’s yet another example of why the NFL is king in this country, and no other sport comes close.
Every league claims that all of its games count, but the truth is usually much different. The sheer volume of most league schedules creates a clear separation between the contenders and the never-had-a-chances, and the latter will spend the final month, maybe even two, playing the role.
Just look at the NBA standings right now. Do you really think the Indiana Pacers or New Orleans Pelicans will be worth watching in March? The Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies are virtually irrelevant after Major League Baseball’s All-Star break.
In the NFL, however, it’s chaos all the way.
Even though the chances of some teams – like you, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – are slim at best, half of the 32-team league remains in playoff contention heading into the final weekend. Only five of the final 16 games next weekend really make any sense.
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There’s even a reason to watch Sunday night’s game between the 8-8 Baltimore Ravens and the 9-7 Pittsburgh Steelers, besides watching Aaron Rodgers hate it!
More: 32 things we learned in NFL Week 17: Furious race for top playoff seeds
NFL dominance is short-lived
The NFL has its dynasties, and there are years when the Super Bowl champion seems a foregone conclusion. The New England Patriots with Tom Brady for example. Or, before this year, the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes.
But the NFL’s structure, with both a strict salary cap and the requirement that teams spend at least 90 percent of that cap, means it’s built for upsets. Aside from the New York Jets, every team and its fandom can go into a season legitimately believing they have a chance.
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At least half of the NFL’s eight divisions, and as many as seven, will have new champions this year. Of the 12 teams that have already clinched a playoff spot, five didn’t make it last year. Four of them had losing records last season.
This is not an isolated case, mind you. This is the 36th consecutive season that at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs after failing to make the playoffs the previous year. At least two teams won their division this season after missing the playoffs in 21 of the last 23 years.
What about these Chiefs, who have won three of the last six Super Bowls and appeared in two others? They’ll be comfortable on their couches, finishing below .500 for the first time since Andy Reid’s time there.
Games that count or… a Snoop Dogg bowl?
There are some who might find fighting for a fifth seed boring, or don’t care who makes the playoffs because they are this year’s Misfit Toys division winners. But there is something to be said about the fact that so many games have meaning at this time of year, ensuring that there is at least some peripheral interest beyond the fans of the two teams playing.
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Or do you prefer the absurdity of the college football system, where the “sanctity of balls” (and ESPN’s thirst for programming) gives us games as scintillating as Fresno State’s 18-3 victory over Miami of Ohio in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl?
Give me Commanders-Eagles for the #1 seed in the NFC any day. Even Jets-Bills, with Buffalo trying to improve its ranking. And even though deep down we know the Ravens are probably screwed, we’ll stay tuned to see if Derrick Henry can carry another team 200 yards.
(Plus the aforementioned Rodgers hate observation, of course.)
This is what competitive balance looks like. As messy as it is, it’s entertaining. And it keeps us in view until the end.
Follow USA TODAY sports columnist Nancy Armor on social media @nrarmour.
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: The NFL is following us all the way. He’s the superpower of the league
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