Just past the playoff wild card week, one-sided games have emerged in an endless stream, and many games have entered garbage time early. With the exception of the San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the Dallas Cowboys on the road, all the other Wild Card teams lost.
This is the second season since last year's playoff expansion that 14 teams have played in the playoffs. However, neither of the league's seventh seeds have challenged the second seed on the court this season, but it is off-court factors that have allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers of the United to play against the Kansas City Chiefs more attention.
Before the game began, the story of Omoto's respected career was constantly looped in the media. If it weren't for the Indiana Colts' upset defeat to the League Vice President Jacksonville Jaguars in the final game of the regular season, the Steelers would not have been able to get the No. 7 seed to cross the threshold of the playoffs.
The steelmen's final home of the regular season, the parting atmosphere on the court was rendered to the climax. But no one expected that under the new playoff system, the Steelers would still have the opportunity to play in the playoffs. Of course, the outside world is not optimistic that the Steelers can beat the Chief, and the facts have proved that this extra week only gives fans one more opportunity to watch Daben's performance. The Chiefs beat the Steelmen 42-21 at home without bloodshed.
In the past two years of Wild Card Week, the No. 7 seed has lost all four games in the playoffs, with an average net loss of 13 points per game, only one game point difference is within 1 ball, and the other three games are all more than 10 points. With the exception of last season's Buffalo Beales' three-point home win over the Mas, all other games were one-sided. There is a voice from the outside world that the expansion of the playoffs has greatly reduced the quality of the game.
When the league made its decision at the time, it was not just about the playoffs. Goodell's remarks ahead of last year's boss vote reflected the league's true intentions.
"We now have 12 teams that can play the playoffs. Increasing the number of places affects not only the number of teams participating in the playoffs, but also the regular season. It makes every regular season more meaningful, every game is important, and there should be no idea of giving up the game. The NFL currently has the fewest playoff teams in the sports league, and it's entirely feasible to increase playoff spots. ”
Apparently, the decision to expand the playoffs has made the league a lot of money. The more matches, the more tvcasts there are, and the more tickets are sold, the more revenue you earn. So the League packed the wild card wheel that just passed into Super Wild Card Week. The round lasted 3 days and took up Monday nights. Whether the league acknowledges it or not, money is the biggest driving force behind the expansion of the playoffs, and the league's pursuit of profit maximization never stops.
In fact, the record of the No. 7 seed is not bad. This season's Philadelphia Hawks are prime examples. The team came out of the slump at the beginning of the season in time to achieve a 9-8 record under the leadership of the new coach. However, their opponents are not strong either, and they have lost all the teams with a winning rate of more than 50% this season. After reaching the playoffs, they lost away to defending champion Tampa Bay Pirates.
If you look back at the record of the 7th seed in the two leagues over the past 10 years, you may have a better understanding of the level of competition of the team in this position. A total of 20 teams averaged 8.95 wins, with 5 teams reaching 10 wins, but 5 teams had only 8 wins. There are no wins, fewer losses in 20 teams.
You can give a few examples of teams to give you a more intuitive impression. The 8-win,8-8 Steelers in the 2019 season are the playoff seeds for the American League. They lost three games in a row in the regular season, averaging just 10 points; the 7th seed in the 2014 American League was a Texan, who had a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, but only 2 wins and 6 losses against teams with a winning rate of more than half.
The 2011 Chicago Bears ended with an 8-8 record, but ended in a five-game losing streak. It's hard to imagine what this would be like when it came to the playoffs.
It cannot be ruled out that in some special years, some regular season jewels can erupt in the playoffs at the right time, staging the Black Seven Miracle all the way through the level. If this happens, it will become a legend of the alliance and continue to be celebrated. But in the vast majority of cases, seed No. 7 is always the mediocre in the league. In the environment of hard salary caps, there will always be only so many top teams in the league.