In the National Football League, the playoff teams are determined by a number of factors. The first is the win-loss record of each team. The team with the best record in each conference is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.
The next two spots are given to the teams with the next best records.
The NFL also takes into account a team’s strength of schedule when determining playoff berths. This is done by looking at how difficult a team’s opponents were to beat during the regular season.
If a team has played and beaten several good teams, they are more likely to be rewarded with a playoff berth than a team that has an identical win-loss record but played mostly poor teams.
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 North American professional sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world. The NFL’s 17-week regular season runs from early September to late December, with each team playing 16 games and having one bye week.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, which is usually held in February.
The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with its rival American Football League (AFL) in 1966, creating a 26-team league that operated under an NFC/AFC structure until 1970 when it absorbed four additional AFL franchises and split into two conferences with 13 teams each.
How the NFL playoff picture works | Road to the Super Bowl
How Does the Nfl Determine Playoff Teams
In order to be eligible for the playoffs, a team must have a winning record (be .500 or better). The NFL uses a tiebreaker system to determine which teams make the playoffs if there is a tie in records. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition.
If two teams are tied, the team that won when they played each other will be given the higher seed. If they split their head-to-head match-ups, or if more than two teams are tied, then divisional and conference record become the next tiebreakers.
If two teams are from the same division and they are tied in both overall and conference record, then their head-to-head matchup becomes the deciding factor.
If they split their season series or if more than two teams are involved in the tie, then divisional and conference record become the next tiebreakers.
The second tiebreaker is divisional record. This only comes into play if two teams have not played each other during regular season (or if more than 2 teams are involved in a tie).
In this case, it simply compares each team’s record against every team in their own division. The team with best divisional record will be given higher playoff seedings.
The third and final tiebreaker is conference record which compares each team’s overall winning percentage against all other opponents in same conference regardless of divisions.
If a three or more waytie still exists after using previous Tiebreakers, seeding will be determined by randomly drawing numbers.
Seven Teams from Each Conference (Four Division Winners And Three Wild Card Teams) Qualify for the Playoffs
In the NFL, the playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the league champion. Seven teams from each conference (four division winners and three wild card teams) qualify for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1–4 based on their won-lost-tied record, with the top seed hosting the fourth seed, and so on.
The wild card teams are seeded 5 and 6, with the 5 seed hosting the 6 seed.
The playoffs begin with two wild-card playoff games on Wild Card Weekend, which is typically held during either Week 16 or 17 of the NFL’s 17-week regular season (the weekend after Christmas). These two games are played on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Wild Card Weekend is followed by Divisional Playoff Weekend, typically in January (Week 18). The divisional playoff games pit only conference opponents against one another: specifically, each #1 seed hosts a #6 seed, while each #2 seed hosts a #5seed; no interconference matchups take place during this round of postseason play. Conference Championship Weekend (Pro Bowl weekend), in January or February (Week 19), features only intra-conference matchups as well: specifically, each conference’s respective #1 and #2 seeds host that conference’s respective championship game.
Finally, Super Bowl Sunday (Week 20), when all eyes turn to professional football’s biggest annual event – pits an AFC team against an NFC team in what is essentially a de facto national championship game for those two conferences.
As many as 46 different teams have qualified for at least one NFL playoff berth since 1933 – when NFL playoffs were first instituted – but only 27 different clubs have actually made it to an NFL Championship Game/Super Bowl; far fewer still have won an NFL title outright (19 total). Of those 27 clubs to have reached an NFL Championship Game/Super Bowl, 11 hail from just two states: Pennsylvania and Ohio; combined they account for nearly 41% of all such appearances by any club(s) from any state(s).
Not surprisingly then, given their long history of success in reaching – let alone winning – big games on gridiron Sundays in December and beyond…it should come as no surprise that both Pittsburgh & Green Bay currently own more Super Bowl titles than any other franchises in pro football history: six apiece.
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Nfl Playoff Picture 2022
The NFL Playoff Picture for the 2022 season is still very much up in the air. There are a lot of teams that could potentially make a run at the playoffs, but it’s still early in the season and anything can happen. The playoff picture will likely change a lot over the course of the next few weeks, but here’s a look at where things stand right now.
In the AFC, the New England Patriots are currently in first place with a record of 9-3. They are followed by the Buffalo Bills (8-4), Miami Dolphins (7-5), and Baltimore Ravens (7-5). The Patriots have been one of the most consistent teams in recent years and they look like they could be headed back to the playoffs once again.
In the NFC, things are a bit more wide open. The Dallas Cowboys currently sit atop the conference with an 8-4 record, but they are closely followed by several other teams including the Seattle Seahawks (8-4), Minnesota Vikings (7-5), and Green Bay Packers (6-6). It’s anyone’s guess as to who will ultimately come out on top in this highly competitive conference.
Only time will tell how things will ultimately shake out, but it should be an exciting race to watch unfold over the course ofthe next few weeks. Be sure to tune into all ofthe action as we head downthe stretch run towards another exciting NFL postseason!
Conclusion
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the National Football League (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 ties. seed gets to choose their playoff opponent from among the three lowest seeds in their conference.