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. Each year, 12 teams qualify for the playoffs. These teams are the four division winners and the two wild-card teams from each conference. The playoffs are held over a three-week period in January and February. The six division winners are seeded 1-6 based on their regular-season record, with the top two seeds receiving a bye in the first round. The first round of the playoffs is known as the wild-card round.

The NFL playoff system

The NFL playoff system is a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. The six highest-ranked teams from each conference (based on regular season record) qualify for the playoffs, where they compete in three rounds of games leading up to the Super Bowl. The conference champions earn a spot in the Super Bowl, while the other four teams play in the Wild Card round.

In each round, the lowest-seeded team is matched up against the highest-seeded team, with the winner advancing to face another team seeded similarly. The playoffs are designed so that eventually, all four conference champions will meet in the Super Bowl. This year’s playoff teams are:

AFC: New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs

NFC: Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints

The four teams that make the playoffs

The four teams that make the playoffs in each conference are the division winners and the two wild-card teams. The NFC playoff teams are seeded 1-5 based on their win-loss record, with the division winners getting the top three seeds. The AFC playoff teams are seeded 1-6, with the division winners getting the top four seeds.

In each conference, the team with the best record is seeded first, the team with the second-best record is seeded second, and so on. The two wild-card teams are seeded fifth and sixth.

The seeding of the teams

In the NFL, the team with the best record in each conference is seeded first overall. The next three teams in each conference are seeded based on their records. Then, the two remaining teams in each conference are seeded based on their records.

The seeding of the teams ensures that the best teams in each conference will not play each other until the Conference Championship games. This means that there is a greater chance that the better team will make it to the Super Bowl.

The Wild Card round

The NFL Playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League’s (NFL) regular season to determine the league’s champion. The playoffs were first instituted in 1933, when the NFL was formed. Seven teams from each conference (14 total) qualify for the playoffs.4

Within each conference, the four division winners and two wild card teams (the two best non-division winners) play each other in the Wild Card round. The division winner with the best record receives a bye in this round. The three remaining division winners are seeded 1-3 based on their record, and the two wild card teams are seeded 4-5.

In the Wild Card round, each conference’s 2nd seed hosts the 7th seed wild card, 3rd seed hosts the 6th seed wild card, and 4th seed hosts the 5th seed wild card. The 1st seed hosts whoever they play in their conference championship game (either their division rival if they win their Wild Card game or whomever won between the 2nd/3rd seeds).

The Divisional round

In the divisional round, the four division winners from each conference compete in two matchups. The winners of those games advance to the AFC or NFC Championship game.

The teams that advance to the divisional round are seeded as follows:

AFC:
1. New England Patriots
2. Kansas City Chiefs
3. Houston Texans
4. Baltimore Ravens

NFC:
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Green Bay Packers
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. Minnesota Vikings

The Conference Championships

The conference championship games are played on the first Sunday in January. They are single elimination games. The Conference Champions advance to the Super Bowl.

The teams that win their divisional playoff games are seeded 1-4 based on their regular season records, with the division winner holding the tiebreaker over the wild card team. The two teams remaining after the Wild Card round are then reseeded 5-6. These four teams compete in the two Conference Championship games, with the higher seed hosting each game.

In each conference, the top seed receives a bye in the Wild Card round and advances automatically to the Divisional round. The second seed also advances to the Divisional round, but they must play a Wild Card round game against either the third or fourth seed (depending on whether they won or lost their division). The winner of that game will advance to play either the first or second seed in the Divisional round, again depending on whether they won or lost their division.

The Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the biggest and most important American football game of the year. It is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game is played between the champion of the NFC (National Football Conference) and the champion of the AFC (American Football Conference). The NFC Champion is decided by playoffs among four teams, while the AFC Champion is decided by playoffs among six teams. The Super Bowl winner is crowned as the NFL champion for that season.

How the NFL Playoffs Have Changed Over the Years

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of 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. The tournament brackets are made up of six total teams: the four division winners and two wild card teams.

The NFL playoff system has changed several times since it was first instituted in 1933

The NFL playoff system has gone through several iterations since it was first instituted in 1933. The most recent change came in 2017, when the league expanded the playoffs to include 14 teams instead of 12.

The changes haven’t always been well-received. In fact, when the NFL first expanded the playoffs in 1978, many people criticized the move, arguing that it would water down the competition.

But the reality is that the NFL playoff system has always been evolving, and it will probably continue to do so in the future. Here’s a look at how the playoffs have changed over the years:

-1933: The first NFL playoff game is played between the Chicago Bears and New York Giants. The Bears win, 9-0.
-1935: The playoff format is changed to include two division winners and two wild card teams.
-1966: The playoff format is changed again, this time to include four division winners and two wild card teams.
-1978: The playoffs are expanded to include 10 teams (four division winners and six wild card teams).
-1982: The league goes back to a 12-team playoff format (four division winners and eight wild card teams).
-1990: Another change is made to the playoff format, this time expanding it to include 14 teams (four division winners and 10 wild card teams).
-2017: The most recent change to the NFL playoffs sees 14 teams qualifying for the postseason (seven from each conference).

The most recent change was in 2002, when the league expanded to 32 teams

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held each year to determine the champion of the NFL. The playoffs, which have been held every year since 1933, consist of six teams from each of the league’s two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). A single-elimination playoff game is held between the two conference champions, the winner of which advances to the Super Bowl, the league’s biggest and most important game.

The NFL’s playoff system has undergone several changes since its inception. The most recent change was in 2002, when the league expanded to 32 teams. Prior to that, there were only 30 teams in the league. The expansion led to the creation of a new playoff system, which included four new teams: two from each conference. As a result of this change, each conference now has its own championship game, which is played between the two division winners with the best records. The winner of this game advances to the Super Bowl.

The current playoff format has been in place since the 2014 season

The current playoff format has been in place since the 2014 season. It consists of four rounds of single-elimination playoffs. The four teams with the best record in each conference (the two conferences are the AFC and NFC) earn a bye in the first round. The other 12 teams play each other in the first round, with the winners advancing to the second round and so on.

How the NFL Playoffs Affect the Super Bowl

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. The playoffs began in 1933, when the first NFL championship game was held. The tournament bracket is made up of six teams from each of the NFL’s two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The four division winners from each conference are seeded 1-4 based on their regular season record, with the top seed receiving a bye in the first round. The two wild card teams from each conference are seeded 5-6 and also receive a bye in the first round.

The playoffs are used to determine the two teams that will compete in the Super Bowl

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. From 1933 to 1966, the NFL postseason generally only consisted of the NFL Championship Game, pitting the league’s two division winners (barring any one-game playoff matches that needed to be held to break ties in the standings). Since 1967, the playoffs have included four teams—the two division winners from each conference (the NFC and AFC), plus two “wild card” teams (the two non-division winners with the best won-lost records from each conference). These four teams enter a single-elimination bracket that culminates in theSuper Bowl, which is usually held on the first Sunday in February and is played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

The Super Bowl is the biggest and most important game of the year

The Super Bowl is the biggest and most important game of the year for the National Football League (NFL). The annual championship game is played between the winners of the NFL’s two conference championships, the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC). The game is usually held in early February and determines which team will be crowned NFL champion for that season.

While the two conference champions earn their berth in the Super Bowl by winning their respective conference championship games (the AFC Championship and NFC Championship, respectively), a total of four teams make it to the NFL’s playoff tournament each year. The other two teams are those who win their divisions but lose in the conference championship games. These four teams are seeded according to their regular season records, with the division winners earning the top two seeds and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The NFL playoff system is a single-elimination tournament that culminates with the Super Bowl. In each round, the lower-seeded team is required to play on the road at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team. In order to win the Super Bowl, a team must first win three playoff games:
-the Wild Card game (if necessary),
-the Divisional Playoff game, and
-the Conference Championship game.

The Wild Card round features two games: one between each conference’s two Wild Card teams (seeds #5 and #6) and one between whichever divisional winner has the worse record (#4 seed) and whichever Wild Card team has a better record than all other Wild Card teams and all but one divisional winner (#3 seed). The Divisional Playoff round then features two games, pitting together whichever divisional winners did not play each other in Wild Card weekend (#1 seed vs. #6 seed; #2 seed vs. #5 seed or #3 seed). The Conference Championship round features one game between each conference’s remaining two teams.

The winner of the Super Bowl is crowned the champion of the NFL

After a long and grueling regular season, 12 teams remain in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy. The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held each January to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL).

The playoffs are divided into two separate tournaments—the American Football Conference (AFC) playoffs and the National Football Conference (NFC) playoffs. Each conference is made up of four divisions, and each division winner earns a spot in the playoff field. In addition, two wild-card teams (the two best non-division winners in each conference) also qualify for the playoffs.

The playoff field is then seeded such that the division winners earn the higher seeds and play at home against the lower seeds. In each round, the lower-seeded team is eliminated from contention while the higher-seeded team advances to the next round. The playoff process continues until only two teams remain—the AFC champion and NFC champion—who then face off in the Super Bowl to decide who will be crowned NFL champions for that season.

How the NFL Playoffs Work