How Does the NFL Playoff Work?
Contents
How Does the NFL Playoff Work? The NFL playoff system is a tournament that takes place each year to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL).
Introduction
The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. From 1933, when the first official NFL championship game was held, until 1966, when the AFL-NFL World Championship Game was introduced, the playoffs were conducted in a rather haphazard fashion. There was no set number of teams involved, and oftentimes it was left to the two divisional winners with the best records to square off for the league title.
In 1967, when the NFL and AFL merged, a more formal playoff system was established. Four teams qualify for the playoffs each year: the winners of each of the league’s two conferences (the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC)), and two wild card teams (the two runners-up with the best won-loss records from each conference). These four teams enter a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, which is usually held in early February and determines the league’s champion for that season.
The NFL Playoff Format
The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Seven teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A single-elimination playoff game is held between the two division winners of each conference, the winners of which advance to the conference championships.
The Wild Card Round
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Each team plays one game, with the winner advancing to the next round and the loser eliminated from the playoffs.
The playoff format currently used by the NFL was first used in the 1975 season. The current format features four teams from each conference, with two teams receiving a bye in each conference (the top two seeds in each conference). In the first round, dubbed the Wild Card Round, the four lower-seeded teams in each conference play each other, with the two winners advancing to the next round.
In the second round, dubbed the Divisional Round, each conference’s top seed (the team with the best record in that conference) plays one of the Wild Card Round winners from the other conference, and each conference’s second seed (the team with the second-best record in that conference) plays one of its own Wild Card Round winners. The two winners from this round advance to their respectiveconference’s championship game.
The Conference Championship Games are played on a rotating basis at either pre-selected neutral sites or at home sites based on pre-determined better seeds. Since 1994, home field advantage in all rounds of the playoffs has been given to teams with better regular season records. Prior to that season, home field advantage was determined by a coin flip between division rivals or by playing at a pre-selected neutral site.
The winner of each Conference Championship Game then advances to Super Bowl Sunday — typically held on either late January or early February — where they will play against their counterparts from the other conference for that year’s league championship.
The Divisional Round
In the divisional round, the four division winners from each conference play the Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds in their respective conferences. The No. 1 seed hosts the worst remaining seed from the wild-card round (seed Nos. 5-6-7), while the No. 2 seed will host the second-worst team (seed Nos. 3-4). The No. 3 seed hosts the third-worst team (seed Nos. 5-6) and the No. 4 seed hosts the fourth-worst team (seed No. 7).
The Conference Championships
The Conference Championships are the penultimate round of the NFL playoffs. The four divisional winners from each conference (the AFC and NFC) meet in their respective conference championship games, with the winners advancing to the Super Bowl. The conference championship games are usually held on the first Sunday in January.
In the AFC, the game is played at the home stadium of the divisional winner with the best record. In the NFC, the game is played at the home stadium of whichever divisional winner has the better record, regardless of whether that team is a wild card team or a division champion.
The Conference Championship games are generally seen as being more important than the Divisional Playoffs, as they ultimately decide who goes to the Super Bowl. The Divisional Playoffs can be seen as somewhat of a ‘warm-up’ for the Conference Championships, in which teams that may not be as good get knocked out and only the best teams remain.
The Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the biggest and most important game of the year in the NFL. 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) each year. The winner of the Super Bowl gets the Lombardi Trophy, named after famous NFL coach Vince Lombardi.
The first Super Bowl was played on January 15, 1967. It was between the Green Bay Packers (NFC champions) and the Kansas City Chiefs (AFC champions). The Packers won that game easily, 35-10. Today, the Super Bowl is one of America’s biggest annual sporting events. Millions of people watch it on TV every year. Tickets to the game are very hard to get, and they are very expensive. A 30-second commercial on TV during the Super Bowl costs millions of dollars!
Conclusion
In summary, the NFL Playoff system is a way to determine who the best team in the NFL is. It is a fair system that gives all teams a chance to compete for the title. The system is also flexible, so that it can be adjusted as needed in order to keep the playing field level.
