The Potential New Playoff Setup and How It Could Impact the Dolphins

The next time the Miami Dolphins are in the playoffs, they could be looking at a different seeding method depending on how a vote goes at the NFL Spring Meeting in Minneapolis this week.

The change in the format, away from giving division winners and rewarding those with the best regards, is back on the table after the proposal submitted by the Detroit Lions was tabled at the owners meetings in Palm Beach in late March.

If approved, the change could have a significant impact on the playoff matchups — as it most certainly would have for the Dolphins' last playoff game, the freezing cold Saturday night game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in the first round of the 2023 playoffs.

Under the bylaw, the NFL playoff seeding format would eliminate the automatic home game for the four division winners in each conference and simply seed the teams by record.

The division winners still would get into the playoffs regardless, but no more home games for teams that finish with mediocre records.

So in 2023, had the rule been in effect, the Dolphins would have played that first-round game against the Cleveland Browns as the No. 5 seed. They still would have been on the road, but Cleveland obviously isn't the same kind of matchup that Kansas City was on its way to its second consecutive Super Bowl title.

It was the Houston Texans who benefited in 2023 from the current playoff seeding format because they got a home game with a 10-7 record when the Browns and Dolphins each finished with an 11-6 record.

The Dolphins also would have had a different first-round playoff match in 2016 under this proposed new format because Houston (again) wound up with the No. 4 seed despite having the worst record of any AFC playoff team that season.

So instead of facing the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Dolphins would have played the Oakland Raiders on the road, Houston would have been at Pittsburgh, and New England and Kansas City still would have had the two byes (there were six playoff teams in each conference that year).

It's worth noting that the current format has benefited the AFC South champion (Jacksonville once and Houston twice) and the NFC South champion (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) each of the past three seasons.

From this vantage point, though, while there's merit in rewarding a team for finishing with a better record, this proposed change would take away one of the big perks for winning a division title. And it says here that for every team that's hurt by the currently setup, there's a team that benefits, and chances are it will even out in the end.

Here's what else the owners could be voting on this week:

NFL PLAYERS IN THE OLYMPICS

This would allow players from participating in the flag football event expected to be added to the Olympic Games in 2028, with the caveat that not more than a player per team could be chosen. If we're looking at the current Dolphins roster, De'Von Achane sure stands out as a logical candidate for the Olympics (because Tyreek Hill likely won't be on the roster in 2028).

END OF THE TUSH PUSH

Proposed by the Green Bay Packers earlier in the offseason, the new rule has been tweaked but it still would make it illegal for an offensive player to push a teammate in the back after that player takes a snap. It's basically a call to end the tush push, and we're all in favor of the change because the NFL shouldn't look like rugby or Australian Rules Football with those scrums. This also would eliminate any help from an offensive teammate beyond blocking defenders.

ONSIDE KICKS ALL THE TIME

There are various tweaks proposed regarding formations for both kicking and receiving teams, but the most significant change with the kickoff role would be allowing teams to declare they're attempting an onside kick at any point in the game as opposed to only in the fourth quarter. We're all for this one, though it's still a very low-chance play for the kicking team.

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