The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament with 14 teams total, 7 from each conference (AFC and NFC). Teams are ranked (seeded) in each conference from 1 to 7 based on their regular-season records.
Who gets in
- The NFL has 32 teams split into two conferences (AFC and NFC), each with four divisions of four teams.
- In each conference, 4 division winners plus 3 non-division “wild card” teams with the best records make the playoffs (7 per conference, 14 total).
Seeding and home field
- Division winners are seeded 1–4 and wild card teams 5–7 within each conference, based mainly on win–loss record and tiebreakers.
- Higher seeds host games, so the better-seeded team plays at home in each round except the neutral-site Super Bowl.
Playoff rounds
- The playoffs have four stages: Wild Card Round, Divisional Round, Conference Championships, and then the Super Bowl between the AFC and NFC champions.
- All games are “lose and you’re out”; the winner moves on to the next round.
Wild Card round matchups
- In each conference, the 1 seed gets a bye week, while 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5 play in the Wild Card Round.
- Winners advance; there are three winners per conference from this round, plus the resting 1 seed.
Later rounds and Super Bowl
- In the Divisional Round, the 1 seed plays the lowest remaining seed, and the other two winners play each other at the higher seed’s stadium.
- The winners meet in the AFC and NFC Championship Games, and those two champions face off in the Super Bowl at a pre-selected neutral site.
