Whens the Playoffs for the NFL?
Contents
Wondering when the NFL playoffs start? We have the answer, plus everything else you need to know about the NFL postseason.
Introduction
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.
What is the NFL?
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 professional sports leagues in North America, and the highest professional level of American football in the world. NFL competition centers on the contest between two teams, each attempting to move the ball towards the opponent’s end zone through a series of plays.
How the NFL Playoffs Work
The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the 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 brackets are made up of wild card teams (the top 2 non-division winners with the best records), divisional champions from each conference, and finally, each conference’s winner meets in the Super Bowl.
In all, 10 teams participate in the NFL Playoffs: 6 from the NFC and 4 from the AFC. The current NFC playoff format began in 1975; prior to that year, only four teams total (2 from each conference) qualified for the playoffs. In 1978, this was increased to six teams (4 division winners and 2 wild cards).
Who Makes the Playoffs?
In the NFL, the playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the champion of the league. The playoffs began in 1933, when there were only two teams competing for the title. The tournament has since expanded to include 12 teams, four of which receive a first-round bye.
In order to make the playoffs, a team must first win their divisional title. In each conference, there are four divisional winners and two wild card teams. The four divisional winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the 1 seed receiving a bye in the first round. The two wild card teams are seeded 5-6 and must play in the first round.
Once the field is set, the tournament begins with wild card weekend. In this round, the 5 seed plays the 4 seed and the 6 seed plays the 3 seed. The winners of these games move on to play the 1 and 2 seeds respectively in the divisional round. The divisional round is followed by conference championships and finally, Super Bowl Sunday.
The NFL Playoff Bracket
The NFL playoff bracket is a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. The tournament bracket consists of six teams from each of the league’s two conferences, seeded according to their regular-season records. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference then receive a bye in the first round. In the second round, dubbed divisional playoffs, the division winners play against the wild-card weekend survivors. The divisional playoffs are held on Saturday and Sunday on a rotating basis. The conference championships are then played on Sunday morning.
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 fact, it is possible for two or three division rivals to meet in consecutive rounds. Also, should all four division winners win their respective first-round game, none of the top four seeds would be guaranteed of hosting a conference semifinal 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 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.
