How Does the NFL Playoffs Work?
How Does the NFL Playoffs Work? The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion.
How the NFL Playoffs Work
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. From 1994 to 1995, the NFL experimented with a modified playoff system, returning to the current system in 1996. As of 2019, the tournament culminates with the Super Bowl, the league’s championship game.
The NFL playoff system
The NFL playoff system is a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Each year, 12 teams qualify for the playoffs: the winning team from each of the four divisions in both the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC), plus two wild card teams from each conference. The four divisional winners are seeded 1–4 based on their won-lost-tied record, and the two wild card teams are seeded 5 and 6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In each playoff game, the team with the better seed gets home field advantage.
How teams qualify for the playoffs
In order to qualify for the playoffs, a team must first win their divisional championship, which gives them an automatic berth. If there are not enough divisional winners to fill all of the playoff spots, then the remaining spots are given to wild card teams, which are the teams with the best record who did not win their division.
Once the playoffs begin, the field is narrows down each week as teams compete in head-to-head matchups until only two teams remain: The winner of the AFC Championship game and the winner of the NFC Championship game. These two teams will then face off in the ultimate contest: The Super Bowl.
The NFL playoff schedule
The National Football League (NFL) playoff schedule for the 2019–20 season began on Saturday, December 28, 2019, and will conclude with the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, February 2, 2020 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Each team plays one game against an opponent in its own conference. The winners of these games advance to the next round, where they play another team in their conference.
The NFL playoffs are divided into two parts: The Wild Card Playoffs and the Divisional Playoffs. The four teams with the best records in each conference qualify for the Wild Card Playoffs. These teams play each other in two games: one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The winners of these games advance to the Divisional Playoffs.
In the Divisional Playoffs, the team with the best record in each conference plays against the winner of a Wild Card Playoff game. The two other teams in each conference play each other as well. The winners of these games advance to the Conference Championships.
The Conference Championships are played on Sunday afternoon. The winner of each game goes on to play in the Super Bowl, which is held on Sunday evening.
Here is a look at how each round of the NFL playoffs works:
Wild Card Playoffs: The four teams with the best record in each conference qualify for this round. These teams play each other in two games: one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The winners of these games advance to the Divisional Playoffs.
Divisional Playoffs: The team with the best record in each conference plays against the winner of a Wild Card Playoff game. The two other teams in each conference play each other as well. The winners of these games advance to the Conference Championships.
Conference Championships: These are played on Sunday afternoon and determine which teams will play in Super Bowl LII (52).
Super Bowl: This is played on Sunday evening and determines which team is crowned NFL champion for that season!
The NFL Playoff Bracket
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. As of 2014, the tournament consists of four rounds: the Wild Card round, the Divisional round, the Conference Championships, and the Super Bowl. Teams are seeded according to their won-lost-tied record, with the division champions always receiving the top seed in their conference.
The AFC playoff bracket
The National Football League (NFL) playoff system is a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Each team plays one game against an opponent in its own conference. The division winner with the best record hosts the wild card team with the worst record. There are four teams in each conference, and each conference has two divisions.
In the AFC, the divisional winners are seeded 1-4 based on their regular season records, and the wild card teams are seeded 5-6. The top two seeds receive a bye week and automatically advance to the divisional round. In the divisional round, seed 1 plays seed 6 and seed 2 plays seed 5. The winners of those games then advance to the AFC Championship game.
In order for a team to make it to the Super Bowl, they must first win their conference championship game. The AFC Championship game is played between the winners of the divisional round games. The winner of that game then goes on to play in the Super Bowl.
The NFC playoff bracket
In the National Football Conference (NFC), the playoff bracket consists of the four division winners and two “wild card” teams. The division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the #1 seed receiving a bye in the first round. The wild card teams are seeded 5-6.
In the first round, the #5 seed hosts the #6 seed, and the winner gets to play the #4 seed in the second round. Simultaneously, the #3 seed hosts the #2 seed. In the second round, dubbed the divisional playoffs, each of those winners play one of the top two seeds. The divisional playoff winners then compete in the NFC Championship game, with the winner going on to play in the Super Bowl.
NFL Playoff History
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League (NFL) regular season to determine the NFL champion. The tournament brackets are made up of six teams from each of the league’s two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).
The most successful teams in NFL playoff history
Over the course of its 100-year history, the National Football League has seen some truly dominant teams carve their names into the record books. From the Green Bay Packers of the 1960s to the San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s and early 1990s, there have been a number of teams that have been practically unstoppable in the playoffs.
In recent years, the New England Patriots have established themselves as one of the most successful teams in NFL history, winning six Super Bowls since 2001. The Patriots have also been remarkably consistent, qualifying for the playoffs in 17 of the last 18 seasons.
While there have been many great teams in NFL history, only a handful can lay claim to being the most successful in playoff history. Here are four of the most successful teams in NFL playoff history:
1) Green Bay Packers (1965-1967)
The Packers were a dominant force in the 1960s, winning three straight NFL championships from 1965 to 1967. Led by legendary head coach Vince Lombardi, Green Bay’s success was built on a strong running game and a suffocating defense that was nicknamed “The Packer Powerhouse.” In 1966, the Packers became only the second team in NFL history to go undefeated and win a championship, finishing with a then-record 13-0 record.
2) Miami Dolphins (1971-1973)
The Dolphins were one of the most dominant teams of the early 1970s, winning two Super Bowls and going undefeated in 1972. Led by head coach Don Shula and quarterback Bob Griese, Miami’s “No-Name Defense” was one of the best in NFL history, allowing an average of only 12 points per game during their three-year run of success.
3) Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-1976)
The Steelers became oneofthe most successful teams in NFL history duringdide ia three yeaer span que led them to win Super Bowl IX. Led by head coach Chuck Noll and defensive coordinator Bud Carson, Pittsburgh’s “Steel Curtain” defense was oneofine stingiest units ever assembled en quant a le nombre de points encaisses. The Steelers’ success continued into de 1970s puisqu’ils ont remporte trois titres de suite Super Bowl XIV et XVI sous la direction de l’entraineur Mike Tomlin et du quart back Ben Roethlisberger . les Steeler ont ete l’un des franchises les plus dominants dans l’histoire de la NFL .4)) San Francisco 49ers (1981-1994)The 49ers were oneofthr storied franchises durantdeidrdidecdeswinning five Super Bowl titles between 1981 anr 1984r 1985r 1989r 1990 et 1994 sous l’egide de legendary coaches Bill Walsh et George Seifert . San Francisco’s success was built on several Hall Fame level players such as quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young receivers Jerry Rice et Terrell Owens , running backs Roger Craig et Ricky Watters , and defensive stars Ronnie Lott et Charles Haley . Les Niners ont ete l’une des equipes les plus dominants dans l’histoire des playoffs NFL , terminant en tete de leur conference a maintes reprises au cours de cette periode prolifique .
The most successful coaches in NFL playoff history
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League (NFL) regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the case of equal records. The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl, played between the champions of each conference to determine an overall champion of the league.
Interspersed throughout the playoffs are byes that allow teams to rest and prepare for their next opponents, and home-field advantage does not guarantee success—teams with home-field advantage have been eliminated in every round of the playoffs since 2010. The most successful coaches in NFL playoff history are those who have taken their teams to multiple Super Bowls and won them. Here is a list of those coaches, ranked by how many times they have won the big game.
1. Bill Belichick – 6
2. Chuck Noll – 4
3. Tom Landry – 2
4. Tony Dungy – 1
5. Vince Lombardi – 1
The most successful quarterbacks in NFL playoff history
In the NFL, the playoff picture is a little more complicated than in other sports. Rather than having teams just play each other in a straight bracket until there is a winner, the NFL divides its teams into two conferences — the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC) — and then has those conferences compete against each other in the playoffs.
The playoffs are made up of six teams from each conference: The four division winners and two wild card teams. The division winners are seeded one through four based on their regular season record, with the top seed getting a bye week in the first round. The wild card teams are seeded five and six.
In the first round, the three division winners in each conference who didn’t get a bye week host the three wild card teams in their conference. The team with the better record always hosts the game. In the second round, the remaining division winner in each conference that got a bye week during the first round hosts one of the two remaining wild card team winners from their conference.
The NFC and AFC Championship games are played at pre-selected sites (chosen three to five years in advance), while the Super Bowl is played at a different site every year. The site of this year’s Super Bowl was announced back in 2013.
The most successful quarterback in NFL history is Tom Brady, who has played in ten Super Bowls and won seven of them. He is closely followed by Joe Montana and Peyton Manning, who have both won four championships apiece.
