How Many Teams Make the NFL Playoffs?

How Many Teams Make the NFL Playoffs? Find out how many teams make the NFL playoffs each year.

How the NFL Playoff System Works

The NFL playoff system is a Plus-One system, meaning there are a total of 12 teams that make the playoffs–six from the NFC and six from the AFC. The four division winners from each conference are seeded first through fourth based on their record, with the two wild-card teams being seeded fifth and sixth. The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament, meaning once a team loses, they are out of the running for the Super Bowl.

Divisional Playoffs

In the NFL, the divisional playoffs are the second round of the playoffs. They are played following the wild card playoffs.

The divisional playoff games are played on Saturday and Sunday, with the top seed in each conference playing on Saturday and the second seed playing on Sunday. The higher seed will host each game.

The divisional playoffs are a single-elimination tournament, meaning that once a team loses, they are out of contention for the Super Bowl. The two winning teams from each conference will advance to the conference championship games.

Conference Championships

The AFC and NFC Conference Championship games are held on the first Sunday in February. These are the final two games of the NFL playoffs. The winners of these games advance to the Super Bowl, which is played on the following Sunday.

In each conference, the team with the best record in the regular season earns home-field advantage for their conference championship game. The other teams in each conference are seeded according to their regular season records.

The conference championship games match up the winner of each divisional playoff game. In the AFC, it’s the top seed against the highest remaining seed. In the NFC, it’s the first seed against either the second seed or third seed (depending on who won their divisional playoff game).

Super Bowl

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world, the wealthiest professional sport league by revenue, and the sport league with the most valuable teams. The Super Bowl is the biggest and most important annual event in American football. It is THE championship game of the NFL, played between the winners of the AFC and NFC.

How Many Teams Make the Playoffs?

Twelve teams make the NFL playoffs. The division winners and two wild card teams from both the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC) qualify for the playoffs. In the AFC, the division winners are the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Kansas City Chiefs. The two wild card teams are the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills.

6 teams from each conference

In recent years, the NFL playoff format has included six teams from each conference: four division winners and two wild card teams. The four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the top seed getting a bye in the first round. The two wild card teams are seeded 5-6 and play each other in the first round. The winner of that game then goes on to play the team with the best record in the conference (regardless of division).

4 division winners and 2 wild card teams

In the NFL, the team with the best record in each division is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. The other two spots are given to the teams with the next best records, regardless of division. These teams are called wild card teams.

Why Do Some Teams Have an Easier Road to the Playoffs?

In the NFL, 12 teams make the playoffs. But some teams have a much easier road to the playoffs than others. The divisional structure of the NFL creates four divisions, each with four teams. The team that wins each division is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. But the other spots are filled by the two teams with the next best records, regardless of division.

Winning a division is the most important factor

While there are many factors that contribute to a team’s success, winning a division is by far the most important.

Having a better record than other teams in your division gives you an automatic berth in the playoffs, and it also ensures that you’ll have at least one home game.

In addition, winning a division gives you a better chance of getting a bye in the first week of the playoffs, which means you can rest your starters and be fresh for the second week.

Finally, winning a division means that you’ll have an easier road to the Super Bowl, as you’ll avoid having to play the best teams in the conference until the Championship game.

Strength of schedule

The NFL playoff system is not perfect, but it is fair. The top six teams in each conference (AFC and NFC) make the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the #1 seed getting a bye in the first round. The two wild card teams are seeded 5 and 6, and they play each other in the first round.

The seeding of the division winners can be unfair, though, because it is based on record. A team that has an easy road to the playoffs (an easier schedule) will have an advantage over a team that has a tough road.

So, how does strength of schedule come into play? It is simple: teams that have played tougher opponents throughout the season will have an easier time winning in the playoffs. They will be battle-tested against good teams and they will know how to win close games.

The NFL has a formula to determine strength of schedule, but it is not perfect. In general, teams that play in tough divisions ( NFC West, AFC North) or against good non-divisional opponents ( New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers) will have a higher SOS. But there are always exceptions: the 2016 Carolina Panthers had an SOS of .563 (21st in the NFL) but they still went 15-1 and made it to the Super Bowl.

At the end of the day, it is up to each team to take care of business and win games. The better teams will find a way to win regardless of their SOS.

What Happens if Two Teams Tie for a Playoff Spot?

In the NFL, the playoffs consists of six teams from each conference: the four division winners and two wild card teams. The two wild card teams are chosen by their conference’s record. If two or more teams have the same record, the tiebreakers are used in the following order: head-to-head record, division record, conference record, common games record, strength of victory, strength of schedule.

Head-to-head record

In the NFL, if two or more teams have the same record, a tiebreaker system is used to determine which team will advance to the playoffs and which team will miss out. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record, meaning if one team has a better record against the other common opponents, that team would win the tiebreaker. If the teams have identical head-to-head records, then the second tiebreaker goes to division record.

Record in common games

The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition. If two teams are tied, the record in games between them is used to determine which one advances. If they split those games or if they didn’t play each other at all, then the second tiebreaker, which is record in common games, comes into play.

To find the common games, you take each team’s 16-game schedule and cross off the games they played against each other and any games they played against teams that aren’t involved in the tie. What’s left are the common games. For example, let’s say Team A and Team B are both 8-8 and are vying for the final playoff spot in their conference. Team A has a better record in head-to-head competition (2-0), so that would give them the edge over Team B and they would advance to the playoffs.

If Teams A and B both went 1-1 against each other and 7-7 against all other opponents, then their records in common games would be 7-7. In this case, the third tiebreaker would be used to determine which team advances to the playoffs.

Record in division games

In the event that two teams have the same record in division games, the tiebreaker goes to the team with the better record in common games. If they still are tied, it goes to strength of victory, and if they’re still tied after that it goes to strength of schedule.

Recent Changes to the NFL Playoff Format

In recent years, the NFL has made some changes to their playoff format. The most notable change is the addition of a fourth seed to each conference. This means that there are now four teams from each conference that make the playoffs instead of just three.

Addition of 2 wild card teams in 1990

In 1990, the NFL expanded the playoffs to include two additional wild card teams. This change increased the total number of teams in the playoffs from 10 to 12. The two additional teams were added to each conference, for a total of six teams per conference. The four division winners would still receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Addition of 1 more game in each conference in 2002

In 2002, the NFL expanded its playoff format from 10 teams to 12 teams. This added one more game in each conference, bringing the total number of playoff games from eight to 10. The additional games were played on Wild Card Weekend, with the four division winners getting a bye into the divisional round. The expanded playoff format was designed to create more excitement and generate more revenue for the league.

Re-seeding of divisional playoff teams in 2010

In 2010, the NFL changed its playoff format so that the four division winners with the best records would be seeded 1-4 regardless of whether they won their respective divisions, while the four wild card teams would be seeded 5-8. The new format guarantees that a division winner will always host a playoff game, even if that team has a lower seed than a wild card team.