How Are The NFL Playoffs Determined?
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The NFL playoffs are determined by a number of factors, including win-loss record, strength of schedule, and division standings.
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. As of 2020, there are four rounds of playoffs: the Wild Card round, the Divisional round, the Conference Championships, and the Super Bowl. The number of teams in each round has varied over time, but it is currently four teams in the Wild Card round and six teams in the other rounds.
The NFL regular season
The National Football League (NFL) regular season begins in September and ends in December. Each team plays 16 games during the regular season. The games are played on Sundays, with a few games played on Monday night and Thursday night.
The NFL playoffs begin in January and end with the Super Bowl in February. The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament, meaning that once a team loses, they are out of the competition.
There are four rounds of playoffs: the Wild Card round, the Divisional round, the Conference Championships, and the Super Bowl. The Wild Card round is for teams that did not win their division but still had a winning record during the regular season. The Divisional round is for teams that won their division. The Conference Championships are for the winners of each conference (the NFC and AFC). Finally, the Super Bowl is for the winners of each conference championship game.
The NFL playoff system
The NFL playoff system is a six-round tournament that culminates with the league’s championship game, known as the Super Bowl. In each conference, the four division winners and two “wild card” teams (the two teams with the best records who didn’t win their divisions) qualify for the playoffs. The wild card teams are seeded fifth and sixth in each conference, while the division winners are seeded first through fourth based on their overall won-loss records.
In the first round of the playoffs, which is held on Wild Card Weekend (the weekend after the regular season ends), the fifth seed hosts the sixth seed, while the third seed hosts the fourth seed. The top seed in each conference then gets a bye into the second round of the playoffs.
On Divisional Playoff Weekend (the weekend after Wild Card Weekend), the lowest remaining seed in each conference travels to face the top seed. The other game in each conference features the remaining two seeds. The winners of those games advance to Conference Championship Weekend, where they compete to determine who will represent their respective conferences in the Super Bowl.
How the NFL Divisional Playoffs Work
The NFL Divisional Playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held every year to determine the conference champions of the National Football League (NFL). The four divisional winners of each conference (the two conferences are the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC)) play each other in the Divisional Playoffs.
The four teams in each division
In the NFL, there are four divisions in each conference — the East, West, North and South. The teams that finish first and second in each division automatically qualify for the playoffs. The two remaining spots in each conference are filled by the teams with the next best records. These are known as “wild card” teams.
In all, 12 teams (six from each conference) make the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their regular season record, with the top seed getting home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The two wild card teams from each conference are seeded 5-6 based on their regular season record.
The two wild-card teams
In each conference, the two teams with the best records who didn’t win their division play each other in the Wild Card round. The winners of those games then advance to the Divisional Playoffs.
How the NFL Conference Championships Work
The NFL Conference Championships are the penultimate step in the journey to the Super Bowl. The conference championships are a single-elimination tournament held after the divisional playoffs to determine the conference champions from each of the NFL’s two conferences. Here’s a look at how the conference championships work.
The four divisional winners
In the NFL Conference Championships, the four divisional winners from each conference compete in two games with the winners advancing to the Super Bowl. The conference championship games are typically played on the first or second Sunday in January. The NFC Championship game is played before the AFC Championship game.
In each conference, the division winner with the best record receives a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The other division winners are seeded 2, 3, and 4 based on their overall records. These four teams will play in the Wild Card round.
The NFL Conference Championships are single elimination games. The winning team from each conference will advance to the Super Bowl.
The two wild-card teams
In each conference, the four division winners and two wild-card teams (the two best teams remaining that didn’t win their division) advance to the playoffs.
The top seed in each conference gets a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The other six teams in each conference play each other in the first round, with the three division winners getting home-field advantage.
The first-round games are played on Wild-Card Weekend, which is always the weekend after the final regular season games are played. After Wild-Card Weekend, the divisional playoffs are held on the following weekend.
Then, on the following weekend, the conference championships are played. The team that wins its respective conference championship game advances to Super Bowl Sunday to play in either the AFC Championship Game or NFC Championship Game.
How the Super Bowl Works
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world, the wealthiest professional sport league by revenue, and the sport league with the most valuable teams.
The two conference champions
The National Football Conference (NFC) Champion Los Angeles Rams will play the American Football Conference (AFC) Champion New England Patriots in the 2019 Super Bowl.
How are the conference champions determined? Eight teams from each conference make the playoffs: the four division winners and two wildcard teams. The division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their regular season record, with the #1 seed receiving a bye in the first round. The two wildcard teams are seeded 5-6 and play each other in the first round.
In the second round, the #1 seed from each conference plays the lowest remaining seed from their conference, while the #2 seed from each conference plays the next lowest remaining seed. In the third round, aka the Conference Championships,
the winners of each second-round game play each other to determine who will advance to the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl winner
The team that wins the Super Bowl is the world champion of the National Football League (NFL). The game is played between the champions of the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFC champion is determined by winning one of the two semi-final playoff games, while the AFC champion is determined by winning one of the three semi-final playoff games. The winners of those two games then advance to the Super Bowl.
