Packers: There will be seven playoff teams in each conference in 2020

The new collective bargaining agreement will bring some changes to the NFL over the next few years. Some of the changes, such as a 17-game season, won’t begin until at least 2021.

But there is one significant change to the NFL season starting right away, which is the addition of one more playoff team in each conference. Instead of sending six teams to the playoffs from the NFC and AFC, it will be seven.

This will have a big impact on the seeding in each conference, and it would have changed the Green Bay Packers‘ season in 2019 had the format been used then.

As the number two seed, the Packers would’ve hosted the seventh seed in the wild-card round rather than having the week off. The only NFC team not to play in the opening round would’ve been the San Francisco 49ers.

Not much else would’ve changed. For example, the Packers still couldn’t have met the 49ers until the NFC Championship Game as a lower seed would play the 49ers in the divisional round. Had the Packers advanced to the divisional round, they would have played at home again.

But the number two seed playing an additional game gives even more of an advantage to the conferences’ top seeds. Would they have been better off adding two extra playoff teams and scrapping the first-round bye completely? The NFC and AFC playoffs would effectively be quarter-finals, with four teams advancing to the divisional round or the semi-finals.

It’s going to be interesting to see how these changes impact the NFL season over the next few years.

One thing is for sure. The Packers’ best bet to return to the Super Bowl is to secure the number one seed. This was true prior to the new CBA being agreed, but the advantage the top seed has is even greater now. Get a week off and then win two games at Lambeau Field.

The road for the number two seed, and the rest of the playoff teams, has become that much harder.