The NFL playoffs are a 14‑team, single-elimination tournament that decides which team wins the Super Bowl. Each conference (AFC and NFC) sends 7 teams, and they play separate brackets until meeting in the Super Bowl.
Who gets in
- The NFL has 32 teams split into two conferences (AFC and NFC), and each conference has 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, for 7 total per conference.
Seeding and home field
- In each conference, division winners are seeded 1–4 by record, and wild cards are seeded 5–7 by record.
- Higher seeds always host games in their conference (so the lower seed travels), and the 1‑seed in each conference gets a first‑round bye and does not play on Wild Card weekend.
Wild Card round
- Wild Card weekend is the first playoff round and has 6 games total: 3 in the AFC and 3 in the NFC.
- Matchups in each conference are: 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5, all at the home stadium of the higher seed, while the 1‑seed sits out.
Divisional round
- In each conference, the 1‑seed now plays the lowest‑seeded team that advanced (the “worst” remaining seed). The other two winners play each other, with the higher seed at home.
- The bracket is “reseeded” this way after Wild Card games, meaning it is not a fixed bracket; matchups depend on which seeds advance.
Conference titles and Super Bowl
- The winners of the two Divisional games in each conference meet in the AFC and NFC Championship Games, hosted by the higher seed.
- The AFC and NFC champions then play at a neutral site in the Super Bowl, and the winner of that game is the NFL champion.