When Do The Playoffs Start For The NFL?
Contents
The NFL playoffs are just around the corner, and fans are wondering when they’ll start. Here’s everything you need to know about the schedule.
Introduction
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held annually to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL). The playoffs begin in January each year following the regular season, with wild card playoff games being held on the weekend of January 5–6, divisional playoff games on the weekend of January 12–13, and conference championship games on the weekend of January 19–20. The Super Bowl, which is usually considered to be the biggest sporting event in North America, is then held on the first Sunday in February and is played between the champions of the AFC and NFC.
What are the NFL playoffs?
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League’s (NFL) regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a seeding system is used to determine the matchups.
In the current NFL playoff format, which has been in place since 2002, four division winners and two wild card teams from each conference (for a total of 12 teams) qualify for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5 and 6. The top two seeds from each conference receive a bye in the first round of playoff games. In the first round of the playoffs, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the 3 seed hosts the 6 seed, and the 4 seed hosts the 5 seed in two games that are played on Saturday and Sunday. The 1 seed is idle in this round. In the second round, dubbed divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the lowest-seeded winner of one of these games (at this point these are three possible opponents: either #5 or #6), while at same time 2 will play host to higher seeded winner (either #3 or #4). These two games also take place on Saturday and Sunday. The conference championship games pit Conference 1’s top surviving seed against Conference 2’s top surviving seed, each hosting one game on Sunday afternoon with big implications – a trip to Super Bowl LIII awaits for each respective conference champion!
How do 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. From Wild Card Weekend through Super Bowl Sunday, there are a total of 11 teams remaining in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy.
The four divisional winners (seeded 1-4) earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The top seed gets to choose their opponent from among the three wild card teams (seeded 5-7). The other first-round matchup pits seeds 2 and 3 against each other.
In the second round, the divisional winners play the lower-seeded team from the first round while seeds 1 and 2 face off against each other. The conference championship games are then played on the following weekend, with the AFC and NFC title games being held on back-to-back days.
The winners of those games advance to Super Bowl Sunday, when they will compete for the Lombardi Trophy and ultimate bragging rights as NFL champions.
Who makes the NFL playoffs?
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League’s regular season to determine the league’s champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a seeding system is used to determine the matchups.
In the current NFL playoff format, which has been in place since 2002, four division winners and two wild card teams from each conference compete in the first round of the playoffs, also known as the Wild Card round. The division winner with the best record in each conference hosts the wild card team with the worst record while the other two division winners host the other wild card team. In the next round, also known as the Divisional round, each conference’s top remaining seed hosts its respective conference’s lowest remaining seed while each conference’s second remaining seed hosts its third remaining seed. The winners of those two matchups then compete in Conference Championship games, with each winner advancing to Super Bowl Sunday, when they compete against each other for the Lombardi Trophy and a chance to be crowned NFL champions.
What is the NFL playoff schedule?
The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Twelve teams from the American Football Conference (AFC) and 12 teams from the National Football Conference (NFC) qualify for the playoffs. Seeds 1–4 for each conference receive a bye week in the first round. In the second round, the divisional playoffs, seeds 1–2 hosts seeds 4–5, and seeds 2–3 hosts seeds 3–6, with home field advantage going to whichever team earned more wins in the regular season. The two surviving teams from each conference’s divisional playoff round then meet in their respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, with those winners emerging to play in Super Bowl LIII, the league’s championship game.
Conclusion
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. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences compete in the playoffs. The four division winners and two wild card teams (the two teams with the best win-loss records who did not win their divisions) from each conference advance to the playoffs. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In each playoff game, whichever team has the better win-loss record will host the game, regardless of where they finished in their respective division or conference. If both teams have identical records, a coin toss determines who hosts.
