National Football League

Jerry Jones: Playoffs should be expanded with two more teams

Published Dec. 9, 2014 4:01 p.m. ET

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Jerry Jones' Cowboys team stands a good chance of being shafted by the current NFL playoff format, but he isn't upset about it. Instead, Jones said Tuesday he'd like to see the NFL playoffs expanded.

"Let me start off by saying I'm for two more playoff teams right now," Jones said Tuesday morning on 105.3 FM The Fan. "I think we've got the number of people in the league that are for that, and it's just a matter of when in my mind."

There has been plenty of talk recently about the league expanding its playoff format from 12 to 14 teams -- a change that could come as soon as the 2015 season. Jones said he didn't want to speak for the entire league ownership, but he sounded confident that playoff expansion was on the horizon.

"I don't want to discredit any team's ability to mount an objection or any team's ability to vote against it, but I think as it sits right now, it enjoys the favor of the staff," he said. "I've seen the league office promote it, and I've certainly seen the teams are for it. I think it could come immediately."

None of this is a reaction to the conundrum created by playoff scenarios during this season. As has been well-documented, the struggles of the NFC South this year have created problems for the rest of the conference's playoff contenders.

With the Falcons losing on Monday night, every team in the NFC South is guaranteed to finish with a .500 record or worse. That means a team with either an 8-8 record or worse will host a playoff game this January, while a team with a winning record must play as a wildcard -- if not missing the playoffs entirely.

"This is an aberration -- this is rare," Jones said. "Because it's such a rare thing -- it does need to be structured so that if you win your division, you've done something."

That's a noble opinion coming from Jones, whose team stands to be adversely affected by the current format. Currently, the Cowboys, Eagles, Lions, Seahawks and Cardinals are prime contenders to finish with 10 or more wins. Division champions are guaranteed to make the postseason, but with so many contenders, it seems incredibly likely that a team with 10 or 11 wins could miss the playoffs.

"That diminishes a little when it's a low-win win of a division, but for whatever reason â whether it's the quality of their outside division opponents or what, they're the division champ," Jones said. "In my mind, a division champ ought to get in."

It's likely there will be a tough-luck loser when this season comes to an end. But if Jones has his way, perhaps he'll be looking at a larger playoff field next time around.

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