ESPN: Multi-Team Insiders Prefer Old Playoff Bracket Format With 4-Team Byes | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumours

The NFL changed the 14-team playoff format in 2020, changing the way bye weeks worked. Under the old format, the top two teams in each conference received a bye week; now, only the top seed per conference gets that advantage.

And reportedly it wasn't the most popular change in the league.

According to ESPN Jeremy Fowler“Most people interviewed for this story said they preferred the previous twice-per-conference format, but going back to that setup doesn't seem sustainable for the league. CBS Sports recently announcedthe next playoff setup could focus on rewarding better records during wild-card weekends. Currently, the division winners occupy the top four seeds in each conference, despite the wild card teams having the better record in last weekend's three games. The league could reportedly change that setting to reward the best record.”

There is no logical setup for returning to a two-bye system other than returning to six playoff teams per conference, which seems unlikely. Even if the league moved to an 18-game schedule—which should include a second bye week, if the NFL really cares about player safety—it's unclear whether the playoff format will change.

So for now, the “one bye per conference” setup remains and will likely remain for the foreseeable future.