How Will The NFL Playoffs Work in 2021?
Contents
It’s time to start planning your NFL Playoff schedule! Here’s a look at how the NFL Playoffs will work in 2021.
Introduction
The NFL playoffs are scheduled to begin on Saturday, January 9, 2021. The four wild-card games will be played on that date, followed by the divisional playoffs on January 16 and 17. The conference championships are scheduled for January 23 and 24, and the Super Bowl is set for February 7.
The Format
The 2021 NFL Playoffs will have a different format than in past years.
The Regular Season
The Regular Season will start on September 9th and end on January 3rd. The top seed in each conference will get a bye week during Wild Card Weekend. The top six seeds in each conference will qualify for the playoffs. In the event that two or more teams are tied in the standings, the following tiebreakers will be used, in order:
-Head-to-head record
-Record within the division
-Record in common games
-Strength of victory
-Strength of schedule
The Playoffs
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A tie-breaking procedure exists if required. The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl, played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.
How It Will Work
This season, the NFL will have 14 playoff teams instead of the usual 12. This is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the league to cancel some regular-season games. The top seed in each conference will get a bye week, while the other seeds will play each other in the first round.
The Bracket
The 2021 NFL playoffs will consist of 14 teams, up from 12 in 2020. The top seed in each conference will receive a first-round bye. The second seed will host the seventh seed, the third seed will host the sixth seed and the fourth seed will host the fifth seed in the opening round. The winners of those games will advance to the divisional round, where they will play one of the bye teams.
The Seeds
The NFL playoffs are not like other sports playoffs. In the NFL, there are only four rounds of playoffs, and each round has a different format. The first two rounds, the Wild Card games and the Divisional playoff games, are single elimination. The Conference Championship games are also single elimination. Finally, the Super Bowl is a best-of-seven series.
In each round, the higher seed will host the lower seed. For example, if the Green Bay Packers are the #1 seed in the NFC and the New York Giants are the #6 seed, then the Packers will host the Giants in their Wild Card game.
The four division winners in each conference (the NFC and AFC) are seeded 1-4 based on their regular season record. The next four teams in each conference (the Wild Card teams) are seeded 5-8 based on their regular season record.
The division winner with the best record in each conference will be seeded 1, and will host the Wild Card team with the worst record in that conference. The division winner with the second-best record in each conference will be seeded 2, and will host the other Wild Card team in that conference.
The division winner with third-best regular season record will be seeded 3 and will host sixth seed . Similarly , fourth division winner hosts seventh seed .
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can see that the NFL playoff system is a complex one that often leads to confusion and debate. However, we hope that this article has provided some clarity on how the playoffs will work in 2021. As always, the aim of the playoffs is to crown a champion who will represent their conference in the Super Bowl.
