How Do NFL Playoffs Work?

How do NFL playoffs work? After the NFL regular season, the NFL playoffs determine the league’s champion.

How the NFL regular season works

In order to understand how the NFL playoffs work, it is first necessary to understand how the NFL regular season works. The regular season is a 17-week affair, during which each of the league’s 32 teams plays 16 games. Teams are clustered into eight divisions (four in each conference), and divisional standings are used to determine which teams will qualify for the playoffs.

At the end of the regular season, the divisional winners in each conference (the team with the best record in each division) automatically earn a spot in the playoffs. In addition, two “wild card” teams in each conference (the two teams with the best records among all non-division winners) also earn playoff berths. The divisional winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, while the wild card teams are seeded 5-6.

Once the eight playoff teams have been determined, the playoff field is set and the matchups can be determined. In each conference, the divisional winners with the better record will face off against one of the wild card teams, while the other divisional winner will face off against the other wild card team. The team with homefield advantage in each matchup is determined by their regular season record; specifically, which team had a better record within their own conference (Since 2002, homefield advantage throughout THE playoffs has gone to whoever had THE best regular season record).
The two conference champions will then advance to Super Bowl Sunday, where they will face off against each other in order to determine who will be crowned NFL champion for that season

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, divisional round, conference championships, and Super Bowl. In each round, the lowest-seeded team is matched up against the highest-seeded team.

The wild card round

The first round of the playoffs is known as the wild card round. In this round, the four division winners from each conference are given a bye while the remaining four teams battle it out in two must-win games. The wild card round is single elimination, meaning that the losing team is immediately eliminated from playoff contention.

The two winning teams from the wild card round will then advance to the divisional round where they will face off against the top seeded team from their conference. The divisional round is also single elimination, so the losing team will be eliminated from playoff contention while the winning team advances to the conference championship.

The conference championship is a winner-takes-all game where the victor earns a spot in Super Bowl Sunday. The loser goes home empty handed.

The divisional round

The divisional round is the second round of the NFL playoffs. The divisional round consists of four matchups featuring the eight best teams from the AFC and NFC. These teams are seeded 1-4 based on their record in the regular season. The divisional round is played on the weekend of Jan. 12-13.

The divisional round features two matchups in each conference, with the winners advancing to the conference championships. The 1 seed from each conference will play the lowest remaining seed in its conference, while the 2 seed will play the next lowest remaining seed. In addition, the 3 seed will play the 4 seed in each conference.

If two teams from the same division make it to the divisional round, they are not allowed to play each other. For example, if both the 3 seed and 4 seed in a conference are from the same division, then those two teams cannot play each other in the divisional round. Instead, they will be matched up with a team from a different division.

The conference championships

The conference championships are the penultimate round of the NFL playoffs. The winners of each conference’s divisional playoff games meet in their respective conference championship games, with the winners advancing to the Super Bowl.

Conference championship games are played on the Sunday following the divisional playoff round. Since 2002, the AFC and NFC championship games have been played at home sites alternately, with the AFC hosting one year and the NFC hosting the next.

The NFC conference championship game is usually played before the AFC conference championship game, though in some years (such as when there is a national holiday or a significant television event like a presidential inauguration) they have been played in reverse order.

The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the biggest and most important game of the NFL season. It is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game is played between the winners of the NFC (National Football Conference) and AFC (American Football Conference) playoffs. The winner of the Super Bowl gets the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the former Green Bay Packers head coach, who won the first two Super Bowls.

How teams are seeded in the NFL playoffs

NFL playoff seeding is done by a simple method. The conference’s four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their win-loss record, with the better record receiving the higher seed. Wild card teams are then seeded 5-6.

The four division winners

In the NFL, the team with the best record in each conference (the NFC and AFC) automatically earns a playoff berth. The conference’s second- through fifth-best teams also earn playoff berths. These teams are “wild card” qualifiers and are seeded below the three division winners in each conference. In all, six teams from each conference make the NFL playoffs.

The four division winners in each conference are seeded one through four based on their overall won-loss record, with the top seed receiving home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The wild card qualifiers are seeded five and six.

In the first round of the playoffs (the Wild Card weekend), the sixth seed hosts the third seed, and the fifth seed hosts the fourth seed. The higher seeds always host playoff games in every round except for the Super Bowl, which is held at a neutral site.

The two wild card teams

In the NFL, the playoffs are single elimination. The four division winners and two wild card teams from each conference (for a total of 12 teams) make the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the top seed getting home-field advantage. The two wild card teams are seeded 5 and 6.

NFL playoff history

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. As of 2018, four teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs. These teams compete in the Wild Card round, followed by the Divisional Round, the Conference Championships, and finally the Super Bowl.

The most successful teams

In the NFL, there are four divisional winners and two wild card teams in each conference. The four divisional winners are seeded one through four in order, with the top seed receiving a first-round bye. The wild card teams are seeded five and six, and they play each other in the first round of the playoffs. The winners of those two games then play the divisional winners in the second round of the playoffs.

The most successful team in NFL playoff history is the New England Patriots, who have won six Super Bowls since 2001. Overall, they have appeared in 11 Super Bowls, more than any other team in NFL history.

The most successful players

In the NFL playoffs, there have been many great players who have helped their teams to victory. Some of the most successful players in NFL playoff history include:

-Tom Brady: Brady is a quarterback for the New England Patriots. He has led the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories, and he has been named the Super Bowl MVP a record four times.

-Joe Montana: Montana was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. He led the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories, and he was named the Super Bowl MVP three times.

-Peyton Manning: Manning is a quarterback who has played for both the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos. He has led his teams to two Super Bowl victories, and he was named the Super Bowl MVP twice.

-Emmitt Smith: Smith was a running back for the Dallas Cowboys. He helped lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories, and he is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.