How Is the Playoffs Determined in the NFL?

How is the NFL playoffs determined? The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion.

The NFL Playoffs

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League’s (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 a series of playoff games are held until the conference champions are determined.

How many teams make the playoffs?

In the NFL, the playoff field consists of six teams from each conference: the four division winners and two wild-card teams. The four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their overall record, with the top seed receiving a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The wild-card teams are seeded 5-6 based on their overall record.

What are the seeding tiebreakers?

If two or more clubs are tied in any of the above categories, the following steps will be taken until a winner is determined.

Two Clubs
Head-to-head, if applicable.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
Strength of victory.
Strength of schedule.
Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
Best net points in common games.
Best net points in all games.
Best net touchdowns in all games. Clinching Procedures

NFL tiebreaking procedures

How is the Wild Card Weekend determined?

The four divisional winners from each conference are seeded one to four based on their regular season record, with the top seed receiving home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The two remaining spots in each conference are filled by the next two highest-seeded teams, regardless of divisional affiliation or record, with these teams also playing at home. These are the so-called “wild-card” teams.

The NFL Playoffs Format

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League (NFL) regular season to determine the NFL champion. From 1933 to 1966, the NFL champion was determined by a vote of NFL coaches. The playoff format changed in 1967, when the NFL expanded to 16 teams. The four division winners qualified for the playoffs, and the NFL held a four-team, single-elimination tournament to determine the league champion. In 1970, the NFL expanded to 16 teams and divided into two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).

The Wild Card Weekend

During the NFL regular season, each team plays 16 games. At the end of the season, the team with the best record in each of the league’s four divisions is declared a division champion. The two teams with the next-best records in each conference are also declared Wild Card teams.

The four division champions and two Wild Card teams from each conference (a total of 12 teams) advance to the NFL playoffs. The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held over three weekends in January leading up to the Super Bowl.

The first weekend of the playoffs is known as Wild Card Weekend. On this weekend, the four Wild Card teams from each conference play each other in two games. The winners of these games advance to the second weekend of the playoffs, known as Divisional Playoff Weekend.

On Divisional Playoff Weekend, the four division champions from each conference play each other in two games. The winners of these games advance to Conference Championship Weekend, where the two conference champions play each other in one game to determine who will represent their conference in the Super Bowl.

The Divisional Playoffs

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 to 1966, the NFL playoffs generally included three teams from each conference. Since 1967, the playoffs have consisted of four teams from each conference. The conference champions receive a bye week and home-field advantage in their respective conference’s championship game. The remaining eight teams are seeded according to their overall won-lost-tied record, with the seeding of divisional playoff games determined by head-to-head and common games records. The four division winners advance to the playoffs. In the current NFL playoff format, this first round of the playoffs is commonly referred to as “wild card weekend”.

The Conference Championships

After the divisional round, the NFL playoffs move on to the conference championships. This round is where things really start to heat up, as it consists of the four best teams in each conference battling it out for a spot in the Super Bowl.

In the AFC, the top seed takes on the lowest remaining seed, while the second seed takes on the other remaining team. In the NFC, it’s a bit different as the top seed takes on the second seed, while the first and third seeds battle it out.

The conference championships are always played at neutral sites, so there’s no real home-field advantage in this round. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a hugely important game. The winner of each conference championship game goes on to play in the Super Bowl, while the loser goes home empty-handed.

The Super Bowl

The two conference champions (the winners of the conference championship games) face each other in the Super Bowl. This game is held at a pre-selected site that is usually a city that has a warm climate or a dome stadium. The week before the Super Bowl is called “Super Bowl Week”, and it is when the two teams practice and have media day. Media day is when all the reporters can interview the players and coaches from each team.