You won’t find many people clamoring for a massive overhaul of the NFL’s playoff format, which rightly rewards each conference’s best teams with a first-round bye and home field advantage, but the leaguewide trend toward mediocrity and the imbalance of power among divisions have led to a handful of lackluster pairings over the years, including home games for sub-.500 division winners against red-hot wild card teams. So while college football’s format is far from immune to criticism, SI’s writers and editors dusted it off to create a selection committee of our own, picking the eight most worthy teams for a new, streamlined NFL playoff field.
SI's NFL Playoff Selection Committee
