Every NFL season ends with a 14-team playoff tournament. It’s simple once you see how it works, so let’s go step by step.
The short version
- 14 teams make the playoffs: 7 from the AFC and 7 from the NFC.
- In each conference, the 4 division winners get in automatically. The 3 best other teams get in as wild cards.
- Only the No. 1 seed in each conference skips the first round (a "bye").
- Every playoff game is single elimination: lose once and your season is over.
- The AFC champion and the NFC champion meet in the Super Bowl.
Step 1: How teams qualify
The NFL has 32 teams in two conferences, the AFC and the NFC. Each conference has four divisions (East, North, South and West) with four teams each.
At the end of the 17-game regular season:
- Division winners (4 per conference): The team with the best record in each division makes the playoffs, even if its record is worse than some teams that miss out.
- Wild cards (3 per conference): The three teams with the best records among everyone else in the conference also qualify.
So each conference sends 4 + 3 = 7 teams, and the league sends 14 in total.
Step 2: How seeding works
Seeds decide who plays whom and who plays at home.
| Seed | Who gets it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Division winner with the best record (gets the bye) |
| 2 | Division winner with the 2nd-best record |
| 3 | Division winner with the 3rd-best record |
| 4 | Division winner with the 4th-best record |
| 5 | Wild card with the best record |
| 6 | Wild card with the 2nd-best record |
| 7 | Wild card with the 3rd-best record |
Important: A wild card can never be seeded above a division winner. So a 12-5 wild card is the No. 5 seed and can play its first game on the road at a 9-8 division winner. People argue about this rule every year. The Detroit Lions proposed seeding by record only in 2025, but they withdrew the proposal, and the rule has not changed.
Step 3: The rounds
Wild Card round
The No. 1 seed rests. The other six teams in each conference play:
- No. 2 hosts No. 7
- No. 3 hosts No. 6
- No. 4 hosts No. 5
Divisional round
The No. 1 seed returns and hosts the lowest remaining seed. The other two winners play each other, and the higher seed hosts. Because matchups depend on which seeds are left, this is sometimes called "reseeding".
Conference Championships
The two remaining teams in each conference play for the AFC and NFC titles. The higher seed hosts.
Super Bowl
The two conference champions play at a stadium chosen years in advance. There is an extra week off before the Super Bowl.
2026-27 playoff dates
| Round | Dates |
|---|---|
| Wild Card Weekend | Jan. 16–18, 2027 |
| Divisional round | Jan. 23–24, 2027 |
| AFC and NFC Championships | Jan. 31, 2027 |
| Super Bowl LXI | Feb. 14, 2027 — SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif. |
What happens if teams have the same record?
The NFL uses tiebreakers. For two teams in the same division, the first ones are:
- Head-to-head record (who won when they played each other)
- Record in division games
- Record against common opponents
- Record in conference games
For two wild-card teams from different divisions, head-to-head comes first (if they played), then conference record, then record against common opponents (at least four games). After that come strength of victory, strength of schedule, points-based tiebreakers and, very rarely, a coin toss.
Can playoff games end in a tie?
No. Playoff games continue with 15-minute overtime periods until someone wins, and both teams are guaranteed a possession in overtime. See our full guide to NFL overtime rules.
Quick answers
How many teams make the NFL playoffs? 14 — seven per conference.
How many teams get a bye? Two: the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Does a division winner always host a playoff game? Yes. Seeds 2–4 host in the Wild Card round, and the No. 1 seed hosts in the Divisional round, so every division winner plays at least one playoff game at home.
Where is the Super Bowl this season? Super Bowl LXI is on Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium. See how to watch Super Bowl LXI.
