Detroit Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is not necessarily happy with the NFL’s playoff format.
This weekend, the 14-2 Lions will take on the 14-2 Minnesota Vikings with the winner earning a bye week and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The loser, meanwhile, will have to play their opening-round game on the road despite having the second-best-record in the league.
The NFL’s playoff format rewards the division winners with a home game in the first round even if a Wild Card team has a better record. This means that the Lions will be forced to play an away game against a team with a 10-7 or 9-8 record.
Needless to say, St. Brown does not think this is fair.
In a press conference this week, the star wide receiver called out the NFL a bit as he made it clear that he thinks the loser of this game should be able to host a playoff game.
“It’s crazy. I think the rule should be changed,” St. Brown said.
“Obviously if you win the division, you should obviously make 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. Hopefully we can get a win and get home-field advantage, but whatever happens, we both have a spot in the playoffs, so we might see each other again after this game.”
The team will obviously be fighting for the first-round bye which would be big, but St. Brown thinks the team could make a run regardless.
“I think it would be big,” St. Brown said of earning the NFC No. 1 seed. “We have a lot of injuries, obviously, but just to be able to get some rest would be nice. But either way I think we’ll be fine. whether it’s going on the road or having a bye week and playing at home, we’re built for either-or. We’ve got the best fans in the world to help us if we’re at home, and if we aren’t at home we’ve been pretty good on the road this year. Either way I think we’ll be fine, but we’d love to have home-field advantage in the playoffs.”
We’ll have to see whether or not the Lions can lock up a first-round bye. Either way, it’s clear that St. Brown thinks the playoff system should be tweaked.
