Blowouts happen: NFL’s Wild Card round should silence naysayers of 12-team College Football Playoff era

The College Football Playoff, during its decade-plus existence, has had no shortage of detractors. The 12-team format poured gasoline on the fire with a dud of a first round, which saw all four higher-seeded and home-based teams win in dominant fashion. 

It certainly wasn’t the greatest debut for the flashy, new expanded playoff. Fans and pundits alike were quick to fill social media with posts pining for the four-team playoff and wondering if Alabama should have gotten in instead of Indiana and SMU. Some wanted to turn the calendar back to the BCS era, or to a time when computers and scribes decided the outright national champion without the benefit of a designated game. 

Fast-forward a few weeks and the NFL postseason began with the Wild Card round. Lo and behold, five of the six Wild Card games resulted in the higher-seeded and home-based team winning in blowout fashion. The NFL underwent expansion of its own in 2021, from 12 to 14 teams, and its Wild Card games have hardly been competitive since. 

Yet criticism of the NFL playoffs is, comparably, muted. Nobody is asking if the Minnesota Vikings really deserved to make the playoffs. NFL fans are certainly more accustomed to a playoff system, given that the NFL has had at least four teams battle it out in the postseason since 1967. The four-team College Football Playoff wasn’t instituted until the 2014 season. 

So NFL fans, and those that cover the league, come equipped with the knowledge that playoff blowouts … just happen. There seems to be a misconception that all postseason teams are created equal — this is especially pervasive at the college level. 

The Texans’ 32-12 win over the Chargers was one of five Wild Card round games decided by 10 or more points. 
…


Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/blowouts-happen-nfls-wild-card-round-should-silence-naysayers-of-12-team-college-football-playoff-era/

Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2025-01-14 18:48:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.