How Many Teams In the NFL Make the Playoffs?
Contents
- How the NFL Playoff System Works
- The NFL playoff system is a single-elimination tournament
- The tournament is divided into two parts: the Wild Card round and the Divisional round
- The Wild Card round is comprised of four teams, two from each conference
- The Divisional round is comprised of eight teams, four from each conference
- The Conference Championships are the final two rounds of the tournament
- How Many Teams Make the Playoffs?
- In the Wild Card round, two teams from each conference advance to the Divisional round
- In the Divisional round, four teams from each conference advance to the Conference Championships
- In the Conference Championships, two teams from each conference advance to the Super Bowl
- In the Super Bowl, the winner is crowned the NFL champion
How Many Teams In the NFL Make the Playoffs?
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. As of 2019, 14 teams make the playoffs.
How the NFL Playoff System Works
In the NFL, the top 12 teams in the league make the playoffs. The playoffs are single elimination, meaning that once a team loses, they are out of the running for the championship. The playoffs are also divided into two parts: the Wild Card round and the Divisional round. In the Wild Card round, the top four seeds in each conference play each other. The team with the better record hosts the game.
The NFL playoff system is a single-elimination tournament
The NFL playoff system is a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. From 1947 to 1966, the NFL playoffs generally included three teams, with two teams receiving byes in the first round. In 1967, the league expanded to four teams with a third-place game in each conference; from 1975 onward, each conference has had four teams qualify for the playoffs. Currently, six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs; this number will increase to seven teams per conference in 2020.Qualification into the playoffs works as follows:
In the NFC, there are four division winners and two wild card qualifiers. The division winners are seeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, with any ties broken by applying tiebreakers in order. The 2nd seed receives a bye. The wild card qualifiers are seeded 5 and 6, also based on won-lost-tied record and head-to-head records if necessary (.500 teams must apply other tiebreakers). In addition, since 2002 a fifth seed has been added for each conference since 2002 (with a corresponding sixth seed for the AFC), seeded based on won-lost record; under this current system if both wild cards have .500 records or better head-to-head then they too would be seeded based on won/loss record with ties broken by strength of victory—with head-to-head used as a tiebreaker if needed— rather than given Wild Card berths.
In the AFC, there are also four division winners and two wild card qualifiers. However, unlike in the NFC where one team gets a bye week (the second overall seed), in the AFC both division winners with the best overall record get rests in Week 18 (the AFC Championship game is played in Week 19). The remaining division winner is then seeded 4th while the top two wild card qualifiers are seeded 5th and 6th respectively. Under this current system if both wild cards have .500 records or better head to head then they would be seeded based on won/loss record with ties broken by strength of victory—with head to head used as a tiebreaker if needed—rather than given Wild Card berths..
The tournament is divided into two parts: the Wild Card round and the Divisional round
The NFL playoff system is a tournament that culminates with the biggest game of the year, the Super Bowl. The best teams in the league compete for the chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, and it all starts with a single-elimination tournament bracket.
In order to determine which teams make the playoffs, a number of factors are considered. First, each team’s record is looked at to see if they have a winning percentage above .500. If a team has a losing record, they are automatically eliminated from playoff contention.
Next, each division’s winner is determined. The team with the best record in each respective division is crowned the division champion. These teams are then given a spot in the playoffs.
If there are any remaining spots in the playoffs, they are filled by Wild Card teams. These are teams with winning records that did not win their division. The number of Wild Card teams varies from year to year, but it is usually two teams from each conference (a total of four teams).
Once the field is set, the tournament begins with the Wild Card round. This is a single-elimination round where the two Wild Card teams from each conference play each other. The winner of these games move on to the next round, while the losing teams are eliminated from playoff contention.
The next round is known as the Divisional round. In this round, each conference’s top seed (the team with the best record) gets a Bye week and does not have to play. The other two division winners from each conference play each other in this round. Meanwhile, the two Wild Card winners from each conference play each other as well. The winners of these four games move on to their respective conference’s Championship game.
The Conference Championship games are where things really heat up. In these games, each conference’s top seed takes on one of its divisional opponents that won in the previous round (the Divisional round). The winner of these two games then advance to the Super Bowl!
Finally, we arrive at perhaps THE biggest sporting event in America: The Super Bowl! In this game, the champions of both conferences battle it out for NFL supremacy!
The Wild Card round is comprised of four teams, two from each conference
The NFL playoff system is 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 four teams play in two wild-card weekend games. The four divisional winners proceed to the Conference Championship games, played the following weekend. The winners of those games then advance to the Super Bowl, which is usually held on the first Sunday in February, giving teams approximately three weeks to prepare.
In total, 10 teams make the playoffs: six from each conference (the winners of each division plus two wild card teams).
The Divisional round is comprised of eight teams, four from each conference
In each conference, the four division winners and two wild-card teams (the two best non-division winners) qualify for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their overall record, with the top seed hosting the fourth seed, and the second seed hosting the third seed. The two wild-card teams are seeded 5-6.
In the first round of the playoffs, the fifth seed hosts the sixth seed, and the Winner plays at either at the home of the fourth seed or third seed. Meanwhile, the first seed hosts the second seed, and the winner advances to play either at home against either fifth or sixth seed.
The four remaining teams in each conference then compete in their respected conference semifinal games, otherwise known as the divisional round. The divisional round is comprised of eight teams, four from each conference. The matchups are as follows: first seed vs lowest remaining seed (fourth vs. fifth), second vs second lowest remaining (third vs. sixth), third vs highest remaining (fourth vs. fifth) , fourth vs second highest remaining (third vs. sixth). The winners of these games then advance to their respected conference’s championship game (AFC or NFC).
The Conference Championships are the final two rounds of the tournament
The Conference Championships are the final two rounds of the tournament. The top team from each conference (determined by regular season record) earns a bye week and home-field advantage for their conference championship game. The remaining teams from each conference play each other in the divisional round of the playoffs. These games are hosted by the higher seed. The winners from the divisional round advance to their respective conference championship games.
How Many Teams Make the Playoffs?
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. As of the 2020–21 season, 14 teams qualify for the playoffs each year: the seven division winners and the two wild-card teams in each conference (four in total).
In the Wild Card round, two teams from each conference advance to the Divisional round
In the Wild Card round, the third seed hosts the sixth seed and the fourth seed hosts the fifth seed. The top seed in each conference then receives a bye in the Wild Card round. In the Divisional round, the top seed from each conference faces whichever team emerges from the Wild Card round, while the second seed from each conference plays the remaining team. The winners of these games move on to their respective conference’s championship game. Finally, in the last weekend of January (or sometimes early February), the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game and National Football Conference (NFC) Championship game are played. The winners of these games advance to face each other in February at Super Bowl Sunday.
In the Divisional round, four teams from each conference advance to the Conference Championships
The NFL playoff system is a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the 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 system is used to seed the teams. A single-elimination playoff bracket determines the divisional and conference champions, who meet in the Super Bowl – the biggest sporting event in North America – to becoming world champions.
In the Conference Championships, two teams from each conference advance to the Super Bowl
In the National Football League (NFL), the playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the 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 seeded bracket format is used to eliminate teams until two conference champions remain, who compete in the Super Bowl to determine an overall champion.
In the Super Bowl, the winner is crowned the NFL champion
In the Super Bowl, the winner is crowned the NFL champion. The game is played between the winners of the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC), which are the two largest professional American football leagues in the world. The game is typically held in February, four weeks after the end of the regular season.
Since its inception in 1967, there have been a total of 52 Super Bowls played. Of those, the AFC has won 27 and the NFC has won 25. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the most Super Bowls with six victories, while the New England Patriots have won five.