NFL Playoffs:Should Record Determine Seeding?

Wild Card Weekend this season in the NFL brought an interesting quirk. All four road teams entered as favorites. Part of this was due to the Bengals being without starting quarterback Andy Dalton. Surely Cincinnati would have been favored with a healthy Dalton. Seattle was likely favored due to the respect two straight Super Bowl trips has brought them.

In two of the other games, the road team entered with the better record. The 11-5 Chiefs finished two games better than the 9-7 Texans, while the 10-6 Packers were a game better than the 9-7 Redskins. This leads to the question whether record should determine seeding. Houston and Washington were both higher seeded than their respective opponents because they won their divisions. Kansas City and Green Bay were Wild Cards.

It is an interesting debate.It does make some sense to reward higher seeds and home games based on record. On the other hand, there is an increased emphasis on winning the division under the current setup. You play 14 games either in common with or against teams in your division. Each division is like its own little four team league. Should there be emphasis for winning it?

Some people have said teams that win their division should be guaranteed a Playoff spot but not a home game.I don't really get that school of thinking. If you are going to go that far, why even have the divisions? Why not just do everything by record?

Ultimately, this might not matter. All four road teams won. If a road team actually is better, it can just go out and beat the opponent.