The team with the better record wins the division always, as they should. For example, in '07, we got swept by da Bears. We finished 13-3 and I forgot their record, but it wasn't near that, and we won the division as we should have.

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They already are, and intraconference is already more meaningful than interconference. (It kept the 1989 Packers out of the playoffs.) This is all due to the tiebreaking system. Divisional games aren't worth more in the W-L record but they are worth more for the end of season standings.

If you want intradivisional games to be worth everything in terms of winning the division then I would disagree. In my opinion the current system can't be improved. I would not be OK with a 6-10 Lions team winning the division over a 14-2 Packers team.

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I don't think that a 6-10 team should go in over a 14-2 team or so. Ever.

One thing that would work is that divisional games are worth 1.5 win or losses or something. (Doesn't have to be 1.5, but you get my point) That would make these games even more interesting.

Although that would make the NFL even more complicated. I don't think that they're aiming for that.

One thing i would have them change is the seeding process, i would just go by records and not division winners, it's sad when you see a 2nd round game between a wild card team and a division winner and the wildcard winner is like 12-4 and the division winner is 8-8 and get the home game.

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Agreed. I also hate how records determine draft order and not when you were eliminated from the playoffs. The Chargers made it into the playoffs at 8-8 but still picked higher, unfair for teams like the Patriots who picked later, had a better record and missed the playoffs. However, I think they may have just changed this rule for next season.

I disagree strongly about the seeding. Taking care of business in your division ought to guarantee you a spot in the playoffs and a home playoff game. If you seed purely by records then a division winner could miss the playoffs entirely!

I like that the division titles are so meaningful. Last year everyone was clamoring for change because of the awful NFC West, but I was loving it when those awful Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl.

If playoff seeding were record-only then the divisions would themselves have no meaning other than dictating which teams you play twice per year. I wouldn't like that.

It's like Ron Wolf always said... your first goal is pwning your division! 🙂 OK maybe not those words but he always stressed it and even drafted with it in mind.

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Ok hows this for an example the Steelers go 15-1 and the Ravens go 14-2, the Ravens get the wildcard but have to go on the road and say play against like Denver with an 8-8 record? So your saying punish a team that is in a very tough division and reward a team that played in a bad division?

The 8-8 team would be rewarded by making the playoffs.

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How is it punishing a team to let them into the playoffs after they fail to win their division? I see that as a reward.

Also it is true that the AFC North is currently tougher than the AFC West, but you can end up with a story like yours where the teams with better records are in a weaker division and have good records in part because they each had 4 games against cellar dwelling patsies. (They also could have collectively played against the same extremely weak division.) Whereas the 8-8 team had no weaklings in its division and they just all beat on each other, and they were collectively matched up against a strong division.

In short, having two teams in one division with good records doesn't strictly mean they played tougher schedules than someone else who won their division with a worse overall record. The two good teams could be in a division with two other teams that go 1-15 and collectively they could play against another very weak division. The 8-8 winner could win by tiebreaker in a division where everyone ends up 8-8 and they collectively play against another very strong division.

Mathematical possibilities aside, let's look at your example and grant the 8-8 team is weak. Well, the Ravens should have won their division. Divisions are fun and important to me so I have zero objections to your scenario. If the Ravens have a problem with it they should try to beat the Steelers out for the next title IMO! Champs play at home, wildcards hit the road. 🙂

It's these high stakes that make divisions and divisional rivalries so great. That's my take anyway. Your example seems the same as the Cardinals and Falcons and Panthers last year, and I'm fine with what happened. The next step for the Falcons is winning that division.

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