The winner of the NFC West may not even have a .500 record, but that team is guaranteed to host a playoff game on wild-card weekend.

In what could be a striking contrast, their likely opponent will be the Falcons or Saints -- each of whom could have 12 or even 13 wins. But relegated to the wild-card route to the playoffs, the NFC South runner-up will have to travel to open the postseason tournament.

That prompted Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay to say on Wednesday that he hopes the NFL will consider changing its playoff format in the offseason to seed teams solely based on records.

"I hope so," McKay said. "I've brought it up twice and never had real success getting it passed. I think it something we should consider."

Commissioner Roger Goodell didn't dismiss the idea, but said that he's also content with the current playoff format.

The 6-7 Seahawks and 6-7 Rams are tied atop the NFC West, with the 5-8 49ers just a game out. Even the 4-9 Cardinals aren't yet eliminated.

But even 49ers coach Mike Singletary was uncertain this week when asked if teams should be forced to have a winning record to qualify for the playoffs.

"I would say that right now I wouldn't agree with it," Singletary said. "But maybe in the future I would."

What do you think: Does the NFL playoff format need tweaking?