How Can The NFL Have More Meaningful Games

[MTK]

You know what's funny, once everyone starts seeing quality playoff football all this moaning and groaning over competitive balance will quickly fall by the wayside, until this time next year of course.

[Monkeydad]

Once you lose 3 games, your season is OVER. Teams are eliminated that way until only 1 team remains.

This means there could potentially be a 5-game championship series if both teams are undefeated going into the "final two".

[Longtimefan]

Schedule more division later in the season, espically in closely competitive divisions where the title may be at stake. Unlike last year when we played four of our first five games within the division.

[Monkeydad]

Originally Posted by Longtimefan

Schedule more division later in the season, espically in closely competitive divisions where the title may be at stake. Unlike last year when we played four of our first five games within the division.

I don't think that would make a difference, as the Eagles showed last week. If a team is in the playoffs or in a better spot like Indy, they'll still rest or play soft knowing their postseason is a lock.

Rivalries will fire up the fans more, but I don't think it will change a coach's/teams strategy in preparing for the postseason at all. In fact, it could end up doing the opposite and making the division rivalry games less intense if one of the teams has things locked up, where they would have played harder if the division game was earlier in the season and still had some more meaning in the big picture.