I think for the teams that make it into the playoffs from 3rd to 7th, this season will in effect be a free hit. They will be so far behind whoever finishes 2nd, there will be no expectation on them to win and the pressure will be off more than in normal seasons.

Whoever does eventually finish 2nd will just have to demonstrate why they were so far ahead of the others and hope that the football gods smile on them as well (with no dodgy offside or penalty decisions).