The NFL’s postseason format is arguably the simplest of all major professional sports. If you win your division, your first playoff game is at home — no matter your record.
Each playoff team had at least 10 wins in 2024, but there were multiple cases where Wild Card teams had better records than the division winners they had to visit in the opening round.
The Detroit Lions have proposed a new playoff seeding format based solely on record, and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin shared his thoughts on the idea.
Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Is Pro Current Playoff Format
The Steelers finished the 2024 regular season with a 10-7 record and earned the sixth seed in the AFC playoffs. The Houston Texans also went 10-7, won the AFC South, and hosted the 11-6 Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round.
The Minnesota Vikings (14-3) and the Washington Commanders (12-5) also had to hit the road against teams with 10-7 records. The Lions’ proposal would essentially eliminate the need for divisions.
According to the 2025 NFL rules change proposals, Detroit wants “to amend the current playoff seeding format to allow Wild Card teams to be seeded higher than division champions if the Wild Card team has a better regular season record.” That would make the NFL’s playoff structure more like the NBA’s, where winning your division just locks in a playoff berth — it doesn’t guarantee home-field advantage.
Speaking at the NFL annual meeting, Tomlin made it clear where he stands.
#Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on the #Lions' proposal to seed Wild Card teams over Division Champions if they have a better record:
“I’m a division purist. I love the rivalries that is division play. I love the structure of our scheduling that highlights it. I think the division… pic.twitter.com/yp1htwq2Aw
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 31, 2025
The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov tweeted, “#Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on the #Lions’ proposal to seed Wild Card teams over Division Champions if they have a better record: ‘I’m a division purist. I love the rivalries that is division play. I love the structure of our scheduling that highlights it. I think the division winners should get a home playoff game.’”
This argument pops up every time a division winner with a weaker record hosts — and sometimes beats — a Wild Card team with a stronger one. The most famous example is the 2010 Seattle Seahawks, who won the NFC West at 7-9 before knocking off the 11-5 New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Round.
That was the “Beast Quake” game, when Marshawn Lynch ran through the Saints’ defense and shook the stadium — and the entire NFL world.
Since the league expanded to six playoff teams in 1990, winning your division has come with a home playoff game reward. Tomlin wants to keep it that way, and odds are, NFL owners won’t be quick to give up the revenue that comes with hosting playoff games.