Why Dallas doesnt have first Rd bye

[dannyripms]

I'm confused why they don't have a bye. They beat Seattle head to head and have the same record. What's the rules?

 

[Sutterkane]

They're also tied with Green Bay though, so it goes to conference record I believe.

 

[MarkDallas]

ESPN says that it is because Seattle has a better record in the conference:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/standings/_/type/playoffs

The NFL site has a fairly complicated procedure for breaking ties:
http://www.nfl.com/standings/tiebreakingprocedures

The only thing is that there are 3 teams tied with the same record (Dal, GB, Sea), so that throws a wrench into it. There are 2 team tie rules and there are 3+ team tie rules. I believe you use the 3+ rules to eliminate one of the three and then proceed with the 2 team rules. Dallas must have been the one eliminated?

 

[patdog]

Not complicated. Since Dallas, Green Bay and Seattle didn't all play each other, head-to-head doesn't apply. So you go to conference record. Seattle was 10-2 so they're the #1 seed, Green Bay was 9-3 so they're the #2 seed, Dallas was 8-4 so they're the #3 seed.