How Many Wild Card Teams Are There In The NFL?

There are a total of six wild card teams in the NFL. The four divisional winners and two wild card teams from each conference make up the 12-team playoff field.

How the NFL Playoffs Work

In the NFL, the playoffs consist of six teams: the four division winners and two wild card teams. The four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the division winner with the best record receiving the #1 seed. The #1 seed receives a bye week in the first round of the playoffs. The two wild card teams are seeded 5-6 based on their record and play each other in the first round of the playoffs, with the winner advanced to play the #2 seed.

How Many Wild Card Teams Are There?

There are a total of six wild card teams in the NFL. These teams are the four teams with the best record in each conference who did not win their division. The two wild card teams from each conference then play each other in the Wild Card round.

In the AFC

In the American Football Conference (AFC), there are six divisions: North, South, East, and West. Each division has four teams. The four teams with the best record in their respective divisions (based on win-loss record) make the playoffs. In addition, two wild card teams from each conference make the playoffs. The two wild card teams are the two remaining teams with the best records, regardless of division.

In the NFC

In the National Football Conference (NFC), there are four division winners and two wild card teams. The division winners are the only teams that are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. The two wild card teams will play each other in a single-elimination Wild Card game. The winner of that game will then move on to play one of the division winners in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

So, in total, there are six teams in the NFC that make the playoffs: the four division winners and two wild card teams.

How Do Wild Card Teams Advance in the Playoffs?

In the NFL, there are six playoff spots available to teams. Four of those spots are reserved for division winners, and the other two are reserved for wild card teams. Wild card teams are the two teams with the best records who did not win their divisions.

In the AFC

During the NFL playoffs, the six highest-seeded winners in the AFC and NFC advance to the Divisional Playoffs. Seeds #1 and #2 receive a bye week and automatic advancement to their conference’s Divisional Round.

The playoffs are structured so that Wild Card Weekend features four games, two in each conference. The four winners then advance to face the top two seeds in their conference during Divisional Playoff weekend. The lowest remaining seed in each conference hosts the highest remaining seed, while the other matchup features the second-lowest remaining seed hosting the second-highest remaining seed.

The winners of each game during Divisional Playoff weekend then advance to their respective conference’s Championship Game, with those winners proceeding to the Super Bowl.

In the NFC

In the National Football Conference (NFC), there are four division winners and two wild card teams. The two wild card teams with the best records play each other in the Wild Card round. The two division winners with the best records receive a first-round bye.

The top seed in the NFC hosts the lowest-seeded Wild Card game winner in the Divisional Playoffs. The second seed in the NFC hosts the other Wild Card game winner in the Divisional Playoffs.

And finally, the NFC Championship game is played between the two surviving teams.

Who Has Been the Most Successful Wild Card Team in NFL History?

In the NFL, there are four divisional winners and two wild card teams in each conference who advance to the playoffs. The four divisional winners are seeded first through fourth based on their record, with the top seed getting a bye in the first week of the playoffs. The two wild card teams are seeded fifth and sixth.

The most successful wild card team in NFL history is the Green Bay Packers, who have won four Super Bowls (1966, 1967, 1996, 2010).

Why Are There More Wild Card Teams in the AFC Than the NFC?

The NFL playoffs are made up of six teams from each conference: The four division winners and two wild card teams. The two wild card teams from each conference play each other in the first round of the playoffs. The winner of that game then moves on to play one of the four division winners in the second round.

The number of teams in each conference has fluctuated over the years, but since 2002, there have been an equal number of teams in the AFC and NFC (32). However, there have always been more wild card teams in the AFC than the NFC. In fact, since the current playoff format was adopted in 1990, there have only been four seasons where the NFC had more wild card teams than the AFC.

Why is this? It all has to do with how many divisions there are in each conference. Currently, there are four divisions in each conference: North, South, East, and West. That means that there are a total of eight division winners (four from each conference). But because there are 16 teams in the NFC and only 14 in the AFC (since 2002), that means that there are two more NFC teams vying for a spot in the playoffs as a Wild Card team than there are AFC teams.

In other words, it is easier for an NFC team to make the playoffs as a Wild Card team than it is for an AFC team because they have two extra spots to fill.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are six teams in the NFL that are considered to be “wild card” teams. These teams are the ones that did not win their divisional championship, but still had a good enough record to make it into the playoffs. The wild card teams are usually the ones that are most exciting to watch during the playoffs, because they often have to win more than one game in order to make it to the Super Bowl.