How Do the NFL Playoffs Work?
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How do the NFL Playoffs Work? NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion.
What are the NFL 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. Unlike most other professional sports leagues in the United States, which use a best-of-seven series to crown their champions, the NFL has adopted a single-elimination format. This means that once a team loses, they are out of contention and cannot win the title.
The NFL playoffs are composed 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 regular season records, with the top seed receiving a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The two wild card teams are seeded 5-6 and must play in the first round against seeds 1 and 2 respectively.
In the first round of the playoffs, known as the Wild Card Round, The divisional playoff games are held on the weekend following Wild Card Weekend. The conference championship games are then played on Sunday morning or afternoon on either January 20 or 21. The winners of those games advance to Super Bowl LIII, which is scheduled for Sunday, February 3, 2019.
How do teams qualify for the playoffs?
In order to qualify for the playoffs, teams must first win their division. In the NFL, there are four divisions in each conference (NFC and AFC). The division winner is the team with the best record within their division. If two or more teams have the same record, then tiebreakers come into play. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record. If the teams tied played each other twice during the season, then whichever team won both matchups would win the division. If the teams only played each other once, then whichever team won that game would win the division. If head-to-head record does not break the tie, then the next tiebreaker is divisional record. This is a comparison of how each team did against the other teams in their division. The third and final tiebreaker is conference record, which compares a team’s overall record against all other teams in their conference (NFC or AFC).
What is the playoff schedule?
The NFL playoff schedule is set each year by the league’s 12 teams. The top six seeds earn a first-round bye, while the remaining four teams play in the wild-card round. The winners of those games advance to the divisional round, where they face the top two seeds. The conference championships are then played, followed by the Super Bowl.
The NFL playoff schedule is typically released in early January, after the regular season has ended. The playoffs typically begin on the weekend following the final regular season games, and conclude with the Super Bowl two weekends later.
Who has won the most Super Bowls?
As of the 2019 season, the New England Patriots have won the most Super Bowls with six. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the second most Super Bowls with six. The San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys have each won five Super Bowls.
