NFL 2020 Playoffs – What to Expect

NFL 2020 Playoffs: What to Expect

2020 has been the year of the change. The world has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. People must now wear masks and social distance. Work and school are now be computed remotely. Life itself has changed.

The NFL has also changed in 2020. In March of 2020, the NFL announced new playoff formatting from here on out. In the past, the best two divisional records received a bye week, with the other divisional teams being ranked 3 and 4 along with 2 wild card spots. The 3 would play the 6, the 4 would play the 5 and the 1 seed would get the lowest seed remaining, while the 2 seed would get the highest seed remaining But, just like everything else, things have changed.

NBC Sports reports on the new changes that will occur in the 2020 NFL Postseason. They break it down step by step for America to fully understand. Per NBC Sports, the following changes have been made:

• 7 teams will now make the playoffs from each conference. 1 extra wild card spot has been added.
• For Wild Card Weekend, the 2 seed will now host the 7 seed. The 3 seed will now host the 6 seed. The 4 seed will now host the 5 seed.
• As a result, there will now be 3 Wild Card games per conference.

While only having one team in each conference get a bye week, the competitive nature spikes up, but in the year of uncertain, having home field advantage in the 2020 playoffs might not make that much of a difference.

What the Playoffs would like if they started today

As the NFL standings currently sit, this is what the playoffs would look like if it were to start today.

NFC:

1. Green Bay Packers
2. Seattle Seahawks
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. Philadelphia Eagles
5. Arizona Cardinals
6. Chicago Bears
7. Los Angeles Rams

AFC:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Kansas City Chiefs
3. Tennessee Titans
4. Buffalo Bills
5. Baltimore Ravens
6. Cleveland Browns
7. Indianapolis Colts

NFL Thursday Night Football – Atlanta Falcons @ Carolina Panthers

One of the teams on the outside looking in are the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers have shocked some thus far on the early year, as they currently sit at 3-3. They have been playing the last month without star HB Christian McCaffrey and it has been reported, he will be missing tonight’s game. HB Mike Davis, who has been filling in, will once again be the starter.

Do not forget, those who are looking to live stream tonight’s NFL game, you have multiple options at doing so. This game will be aired on NFL Network and FOX tonight at 8:20 P.M. eastern. If you have a cable subscription, one way to stream tonight’s game is by downloading the FOX app and logging into your cable provider. For those who do not have basic cable, you can live stream this game through Amazon Prime or FuboTV.

Amazon Prime Video offers a free 30-day trial. After the trial, you will be charged $8.99 per month for the services. FuboTV also offers a 7-day trial. After the trial, you will be prompted to select the package you’d like to pay for moving forward shall you be interested.

DraftKings currently has the Carolina Panthers (-1.5) the favorite to win this game. If you bet on the Panthers, that means in order to win, the Panthers have to win by more than two. If you bet on the underdog, Atlanta Falcons, that means the Falcons have to outright win this game or lose by 1 point.

Photo Courtesy of The Ringer