What Are Wild Card Games In Nfl?

The NFL season is nearly upon us and that means it’s time to start thinking about your fantasy football team. One important aspect of fantasy football is understanding what wild card games are and how they can affect your team’s chances of success. In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about wild card games and how they work.

Introduction

In the NFL, the term “wild card game” refers to a playoff game that is not the divisional round game. Wild card games are played between the two lowest ranked teams in each conference. These games are often referred to as the “play-in” games.

The term “wild card” comes from the fact that these teams are not guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. They must “win” their way in by winning a wild card game.

Wild card games were first introduced in 1978. Prior to that, only division winners were allowed to compete in the playoffs. The addition of wild card teams increased the number of teams competing for the Super Bowl from 10 to 12.

The format of the NFL playoffs has changed several times since 1978, but wild card games have remained a part of it.

In recent years, there has been some discussion about expanding the playoffs to include more teams. This would likely mean adding more wild card games. However, no changes have been made yet.

If you’re a fan of a team that is competing in a wild card game, make sure you cheer them on! These games are always exciting and anything can happen.

What are Wild Card games?

Wild Card games are additional playoff games in the NFL that take place before the Divisional Playoffs. They were introduced in 1978 as a way to include more teams in the playoffs. Up to four teams from each conference can qualify for the Wild Card playoffs. The two Wild Card games are played on the same weekend, with the winners advancing to the Divisional Playoffs.

The history of Wild Card games

In the National Football League (NFL), a Wild Card game is a playoff game that is typically held between two teams that did not win their division. The NFL has used the Wild Card playoff system since 1970, and it has been expanded several times since then.

The Wild Card games are usually played on the weekend after the regular season ends, with the winners advancing to the divisional round of the playoffs. In some cases, a team may qualify for the playoffs as a Wild Card team but also win their division; in this case, the team would advance to the divisional round as both a division winner and a Wild Card team.

The NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002, which meant that there were now four teams in each conference that did not win their division; these teams were seeded #5-#8 in the conference standings. The four division winners in each conference were seeded #1-#4 and received a first-round bye in the playoffs. The #5 seed would play the #6 seed, and the #7 seed would play the #8 seed, with the winners of those games advancing to play one of the top four seeds in the divisional round.

In 2020, due to concerns about an increased risk of COVID-19 infection during winter weather, the NFL expanded its playoff format to include 14 teams instead of 12. As a result of this change, only one team in each conference (the #1 seed) will receive a first-round bye; all other playoff teams will play one additional game during wildcard weekend.

The expansion to 14 teams also means that there will be three wild card games played in each conference instead of two. The #2 and #3 seeds in each conference will host one of these games; in previous years, only the #2 seed hosted a Wild Card game. The higher-seeded team will be considered home team and will have choice of jersey color.

How do Wild Card games work?

In the NFL, the Wild Card game is a term used to describe the playoff game between the two best teams in each conference who did not win their division. The Wild Card game was introduced in 1978, and since then, it has been played annually on the weekend following the regular season.

The Wild Card game is a single-elimination game, meaning that the losing team is eliminated from the playoffs and the winning team advances to the next round. The winner of the Wild Card game will play either the first-seeded team in their conference or the second-seeded team, depending on who wins their divisional playoff game.

The Wild Card game is usually played on Saturday or Sunday afternoon, but occasionally it is played on Friday night or Saturday night. The time of the Wild Card game is set by the NFL schedule makers and is not announced until after all of the week’s games have been played.

The teams that play in the Wild Card game are not guaranteed to be from the same division, but they will be from opposite conference. This ensures that there is always one AFC team and one NFC team in each Wild Card game.

Who qualifies for Wild Card games?

The four teams with the best record in each conference (NFC and AFC) qualify for the NFL playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the top seed getting the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The next four teams are “wild card” qualifiers.

The seeding process

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held at the end of the regular season to determine the champion of the NFL. The tournament consists of four rounds of play. The Wild Card round, Divisional round, Conference championship games, and the Super Bowl.

The number of teams in the NFL playoffs has been fixed at 12 since 1990. Of these 12 teams, 6 teams are division winners and 6 teams are “wild card” qualifiers. The wild card teams consist of the 2 second-place teams in each conference with the next best win-loss records regardless of division.

The tie-breaking process

To decide which teams play each other in the Wild Card round, the NFL uses a tie-breaking process. If two teams have the same record, the tie is broken by applying a set of rules in the following order:

1. Head-to-head record
2. Record in common games
3. Record in conference games
4. Strength of victory
5. Strength of schedule

What are the benefits of Wild Card games?

The benefits of Wild Card games are that they add an extra layer of excitement to the NFL playoffs and give teams who may not have otherwise made the playoffs a chance to compete for the championship. In addition, Wild Card games give fans something to do on weekends during the NFL season when there are no other games being played.

What are the drawbacks of Wild Card games?

The main drawback of Wild Card games is that they can be unpredictable. Because the teams that make it to the playoffs are not necessarily the best teams in the league, there is always the potential for an upset. This can make it difficult for fans to plan their viewing schedule, and it can also make it tough for broadcasters to properly promote the games.

Conclusion

The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs. The conference championship games are played in January, and the Super Bowl, the league’s championship game, is played in February.

The two teams with the best records in each conference receive a first-round bye and home-field advantage in their conference’s playoff bracket. The remaining four teams in each conference (the two division winners and two wild card qualifiers) play each other in the first round of the playoffs, called the wild card round. The winners of those four playoff games advance to meet the top two seeds in each conference in the divisional round of the playoffs. The winners of those two matchups then compete against each other in the conference championship games, with those winners advancing to Super Bowl LIII, scheduled for February 3, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.