As the fourth week of the regular season came to a close, only two undefeated teams remained: the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. Both teams are in the NFC North, making them fierce divisional rivals. Their synchronized winning streak has made their division the most competitive in the league.
As for the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers, both teams lost their games this week after starting the season with three wins.
The Buffalo Bills lost to the Cincinnati Bengals. After losing to the 49ers last week, the Bengals had a fresh start this week and won the game at home with a score of "23:20." The San Francisco 49ers, on the other hand, lost their undefeated streak in an away game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Clearly, this is the NFL. Anything can happen, and the shift from winning to losing can happen in just one week.
The NFL's schedule format has a lot to do with this.
In Europe's top five football leagues, teams earn points for wins, losses, and draws, which are then used to determine their rankings. In the NFL, however, a completely different system is used for divisions, schedules, and the playoffs.
First, the NFL has two conferences: the NFC and the AFC. Each conference is relatively independent. After each conference crowns its champion, the two champions face off in the annual Super Bowl.
Next, each conference has four divisions: North, South, East, and West. There are four teams in each division, for a total of 32 teams.
The AFC North consists of the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. In this division, the Steelers are undoubtedly the most-watched team, leading in history, strength, and fan base. The "Steel-Bird War" between the Steelers and the Ravens during their annual divisional rivalry is always very heated and is even considered one of the best matchups in the league.
The AFC South consists of the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, and Houston Texans. The Titans had a glorious period in their history, but their overall strength is relatively weak. After Peyton Manning joined the Colts, they emerged as the undisputed rulers of this division. However, with Manning out due to injury this year, the Colts have been struggling, and almost anyone can beat them.
The AFC East consists of the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and New York Jets. All four teams have glorious histories, and the Patriots' glory happened over the past decade, making them the undisputed rulers of the division. However, the Bills and Dolphins have often given the Patriots a hard time in their divisional rivalries, and even the long-struggling Jets cannot be taken lightly.
The AFC West consists of the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and San Diego Chargers. The Raiders and Chiefs once ruled this division, but since the new millennium, the Chargers have been the divisional powerhouse, winning five division titles in the past six years. The Broncos' peak was undoubtedly in 1997 and 1998, when they won two consecutive Super Bowls under the leadership of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.
After the new millennium, the overall strength of the AFC gradually shifted. The New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Indianapolis Colts became the absolute rulers. The AFC championship did not fall to anyone else for eight consecutive years. More accurately, it never escaped the grasp of the three elite quarterbacks: Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, and Peyton Manning.
The NFC North consists of the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Minnesota Vikings. The four teams in this division are undoubtedly the fiercest divisional rivals with the most history and sparks in the league. Any two of them are mortal enemies and have given us the most exciting and classic battles. In recent years, the Packers, led by Aaron Rodgers, have re-established their dominance over the division.
The NFC South consists of the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since the 21st century, the Falcons and Saints have been the absolute rulers of the division. However, after Cam Newton joined the Panthers this year, they have gradually become an unpredictable spoiler.
The NFC East consists of the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins. This is probably the second-most historic and passionate division after the NFC North. Also, the average fan base of the four teams in this division leads the league. All four teams have a long history and glorious records, and their competition is fierce and cutthroat.
The NFC West consists of the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, and San Francisco 49ers. In this division, the 49ers and Rams are absolute rivals. The Cardinals and Seahawks joined the division after the realignment in the new millennium, so their historical roots are relatively shallow. Over the past decade, the strength of the four teams has fluctuated, and there has been no dominant divisional powerhouse.
Compared to the AFC, the NFC has always been in a state of chaos. In the past ten years, a total of ten different teams have won the conference championship and advanced to the Super Bowl. The overall strength is well-balanced, and the competition is more intense. It seems that everyone has a chance, and it's easy to be caught off guard. In the NFC, it is not uncommon for a team that was a cellar-dweller a year ago to win the division championship the next year.
People always joke that the AFC has its three powerhouses, while the NFC is always in flux.
Next, playoff spots.
The NFL playoff spots are also allocated in a special way. The NFC and AFC each have six playoff spots. The division champions of the four divisions in each conference automatically get a playoff spot, regardless of their record. As long as a team finishes first in its division, it gets into the playoffs.
The four champions of the four divisions take up four spots in their respective conferences. The remaining two spots are called Wild Cards. Of the remaining twelve teams, the two teams with the best records get the Wild Card spots for their respective conferences.
Because a team can get into the playoffs as long as it wins its division, regardless of how bad its record is, special situations can sometimes arise where a team with a better record fails to get a Wild Card spot and misses the playoffs.
Last year, the Seattle Seahawks, with a record of 7-9, benefited from this rule and got into the playoffs because they were the NFC West champions. The other three teams had even worse records.
If there is a tie in the Wild Card race, the NFL has also established a series of incredibly complex rules to determine the final rankings.
In the playoff format, the division champions are seeded from one to four based on their records. The two Wild Card teams are seeded five and six, also based on their records.
The number one and two seeds not only get home-field advantage but also get a bye in the first round. The first week of the playoffs is also called the Wild Card round. The number three and six seeds, and the number four and five seeds, play each other. The winners advance to the next round. Then, based on their regular-season records, the winner with the worse record plays the number one seed, and the winner with the better record plays the number two seed. The winners of those games go to the Super Bowl.
As you can see, the NFL is a system that is completely different from European football leagues. Naturally, the regular season schedule is also different. The process of determining the division champion is crucial because the teams' opponents change every year, and the balance of power naturally changes as well.
The NFL regular season is 17 weeks long, with one round each week. Each team plays 16 games and has one bye week. The schedule for each year follows a cyclical formula. The formula is fixed, but based on the teams' performance, the final schedule for each year can have many changes.
Divisional Rivalries: Each team plays two games against the other three teams in their division, one at home and one away. This makes a total of six games.Conference Rivalries: Each team plays against the teams in another division of the same conference, on a three-year cycle. To put it simply, the San Francisco 49ers, who are in the NFC West, are scheduled to play against the NFC East this year, the NFC North next year, the NFC South the year after, and then back to the NFC East the year after that. Each team plays one game against each team in the other division, with two home games and two away games. This makes a total of four games.
In other words, the earliest Lu Ke and Cam Newton can face each other is in 2013, unless the 49ers and Panthers both make it to the playoffs this year. In that case, it would depend on their rankings and the schedule.
Inter-Conference Rivalries: Each team plays against a division in the other conference, on a four-year cycle. This year, the San Francisco 49ers are playing against the AFC North. Next year, they will play against the AFC East, and so on. This also consists of two home games and two away games, for a total of four games.Same-Rank Rivalries: Each team plays one game against two teams in their same conference that finished in the same rank in their division the previous year and are not scheduled to play them this year. This is a total of two games, one at home and one away.
For example, the San Francisco 49ers' conference opponent this year is the NFC East. So, their remaining two opponents must be chosen from the NFC North and NFC South. The San Francisco 49ers finished third in their division last year. The third-place team in the NFC North last year was the Detroit Lions, and the third-place team in the NFC South last year was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So, this year, the 49ers will play one game against the Lions and one against the Buccaneers, one at home and one away.
Six games, four games, four games, and two games, for a total of 16 games. This makes up one season. Besides the divisional rivalries, the opponents assigned through the other three methods are all different.
Therefore, a team's schedule is different every year. This year, they might be up against a strong division with a difficult schedule. Next year, they might be up against a relatively weak division, and the schedule would be much easier.
Because of this schedule, weak teams also have a great opportunity to succeed, and strong teams can also fall into a slump after a series of tough matchups. Combined with factors like the salary cap, injuries, and trades, it is very difficult for a team to become an absolute powerhouse in the NFL.
Not to mention a long-term powerhouse, it's not uncommon for a team to have a winning streak for a few weeks and then a losing streak for a few weeks in the same season.
NOTE:
New chapters drop Three times a day, every Monday through Sunday! Plus, you have the power to unlock more: we'll release Three bonus chapters for every 300 votes! Let's get this story moving together.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 30 chapters in advance!