the purposes of calculating winning percentage. Prior to 1972, ties were ignored altogether for the purposes of calculating NFL winning percentages, which actually made them more valuable than a "half-win": teams with a winning record including ties had an advantage in terms of earning a better winning percentage for the purposes of playoff qualification and teams with a losing record including ties had an advantage in terms of earning better draft position. In all competitions in both countries, it is popular for team records to be expressed in a simple "W-L" format, or in a "W-L-T" format, only if there are ties in the team's record. The CFL nominally awards three playoff berths per division while the NFL awards a playoff berth to each of its division winners (four per conference) and three wild card berths per conference (previously only two wild card berths before the 2020 season). The CFL allows the possibility of a fourth place team in one division to "cross over" in place of the third place team of the other division, but only if it has a better record than the third place team. Also, even though the CFL has an unequal number of teams per division there is no possibility of the fifth place team in the West Division qualifying, even if it finishes outright fifth or sixth overall. By contrast, an NFL team finishing second in its division receives no special advantage should it finish tied with a third place team in another division for the final wild card berth. Beyond that, the tie-breaking criteria are radically different (although they both culminate in an as-yet-unused coin toss should all criteria be exhausted). For example, the CFL's first tie-breaker is number of wins, whereas number of wins is not an NFL tie-breaking criterium in itself, meaning an NFL team with no ties would have neither an advantage nor a disadvantage over another team with one less win and two ties, assuming they played the same number of games. Strategic and tactical differences Although the rules of Canadian and American football have similarities, the differences have a great effect on how teams play and are managed. Red-zone management The red zone is an unofficial term designating the portion of the field between the 20-yard line and the goal line. Due to the goalposts' being on the goal line in Canadian football, teams must avoid hitting the