re: Odds are that an 11-5 NFC team will be left out for the first time

If the NFL is smart and not shortsighted at all for a change, they would have the position that the current playoff format is one of the best in pro sports and it is the most fair and accurate format for determining a champion. If you win your division, you will have proven yourself as the best team out of 4 teams in a 16 team conference and that should always be rewarded with a playoff spot and one guaranteed home game when only 6 teams can go to the playoffs.

With that said, a 7-9 or 6-10 division winner is an anomaly and certainly should not be treated as the norm and indicative of a larger problem. It's extremely and highly unlikely this will happen again for a long time. To change the playoff format would be an overreaction, indigent outrage seeking to punish an anomaly and only hurt the NFL brand and get rid of a great playoff format. It's unfortunate that there's a team that's below .500 in the playoffs but that's just what you get when an entire division is so shitty and its inflating the W-L records of other teams and divisions and not even the best playoff format can account for that. No playoff format is perfect even when it may be one of the best in sports.