It’s never too soon to start thinking about the NFL playoffs.
Tonight’s showdown between the 7-0 Cardinals and the 6-1 Packers could very well decide homefield advantage in the NFC Playoffs.
Does homefield advantage still exist, though?
The answer, anecdotally and statistically, is no.
We saw the Packers earn homefield advantage last season, only to get bounced by the warm-weather Buccaneers at Lambeau in late January.
2020 was the first season in NFL history in which home teams finished with a losing record.
They went 127-128-1.
The reason was obvious. No fans in the stands greatly neutralized things.
This year, though, fans are back, but the record is about the same.
So far in 2021, home teams are 50-54.
Maybe teams are prepared better mentally to go into raucous environments.
Maybe it’s a rollover effect from 2020.
Who knows?
But as long as this trend continues, throw your homefield advantage argument out.
There’s no reason that the Packers can’t win on the road tonight.
And there’s no reason to panic if they lose.