When Does the NFL Playoffs Start?
Contents
The NFL playoffs start Saturday, January 9th. Find out who’s playing who and when, and make your predictions!
Introduction
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. These playoffs follow a rigid schedule that determines which teams will play each other.
The playoffs began in 1933, when the NFL split into two divisions, the Eastern and Western. A championship game was played between the two division winners. In 1966, the NFL expanded to four divisions, and the playoff system changed. The four division winners would now advance to the playoffs, and two more rounds of games would be played before the championship game.
Today, there are four rounds of playoff games. The first round is played between the Wild Card teams, which are the four teams with the best records who did not win their division. The second round is played between the Divisional winners. The third round is played between the Conference winners, which are the two teams remaining from each conference. The fourth and final round is played between these Conference winners to decide who will be crowned NFL champion at Super Bowl Sunday.
What is the NFL Playoffs?
The National Football League (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. Seedings are used to encourage the division winners to play against the wild-card qualifiers.
How Does the NFL Playoffs Work?
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League (NFL)’s 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 tie-breaking procedure exists in the case of equal records. The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl, the league’s championship game.
Who Qualifies for the NFL Playoffs?
In order to qualify for the NFL playoffs, a team must first win their division. There are four division winners in each conference (NFC and AFC). The division winners are then seeded one through four based on their record. The seed determines who the team will play in the first round of the playoffs. The highest seed will play the lowest seed, and the second highest seed will play the second lowest seed.
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament. This means that once a team loses, they are out of the playoffs. The tournament starts with four teams and ends with only one team left standing. That team is crowned the champion of the NFL.
How Many Teams are in the NFL Playoffs?
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the National Football League (NFL) regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league’s two conferences qualify for the playoffs.
From 2013 to 2020, seven teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs each year, with four division winners and three wild card teams. The league expanded to 16 total playoff teams in 2020, with an additional three wild card teams in each conference.
The two surviving clubs from each conference’s divisional playoff games then meet in their respective AFC or NFC Conference Championship Game, hosted by the higher seed. Although seedings are decided on a yearly basis and all four division winners are guaranteed playoff spots regardless of record, there has never been a scenario where all four division winners would have had losing records; as at least one team with a non-losing record has qualified as a wild card every year since 1978.
What is the NFL Playoff Schedule?
The National Football League 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 (since 1967, four teams from each conference). Since 1967, the playoffs have expanded to include six teams from each conference (since 1990), with seedings based on regular season records. The two surviving teams from each conference’s divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed.
The AFC and NFC champions advance to meet in the Super Bowl, the league’s championship game. Originally coordinated with America’s Thanksgiving holiday (until recently played on Sunday), the Super Bowl has been played on a Sunday in early February since 2004. The winner of the Super Bowl receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after legendary head coach Vince Lombardi, who led the Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowls.
Conclusion
The NFL playoffs start on Saturday, January 9th. The wild card round will be played on that day and the following day. The divisional round will be played on January 16th and 17th. The conference championships will be played on January 23rd. The Pro Bowl will be played on January 30th and the Super Bowl will be played on February 7th.
