The NFL postseason is a single-elimination race that ends with the Super Bowl. Here is how teams qualify, how they are seeded and how the rounds work.
How many teams make the playoffs?
Fourteen of the league’s 32 teams qualify, seven from the AFC and seven from the NFC. The league expanded from 12 to 14 teams in 2020 by adding one wild-card team per conference.
Division winners and wild cards
In each conference, the four division champions qualify automatically. The three non-division winners with the best records take the wild-card places.
How seeding works
Seeding is done separately in each conference. The four division winners are seeded one to four by record, even if a wild-card team has a better record. The three wild cards are seeded five to seven. Tiebreakers such as head-to-head results and conference and division records settle teams with the same record.
The wild-card round
Only the number one seed gets a bye. The second seed hosts the seventh, the third hosts the sixth and the fourth hosts the fifth. This guarantees every division winner at least one home playoff game.
The divisional round
The top seed hosts the lowest remaining seed, and the other two winners are paired by seed, with the higher seed hosting. The league re-seeds teams after the wild-card round, so the bracket is not fixed in advance.
Conference championships and Super Bowl
The two divisional-round winners in each conference meet in the conference championship, with the higher seed at home. The two conference champions then meet in the Super Bowl. There are four rounds in all: wild card, divisional, conference championship and Super Bowl.
Why seeding matters
The top seed in each conference earns a week of rest and home-field advantage, which is why late-season games between contenders carry so much weight. A division title also guarantees a home game, so winning the division can matter as much as the overall record.
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