Updated 13 Nov 2026.
How the NFL playoffs work: 14 teams, 7 per conference, 4 division winners and 3 wild cards, 1 bye each and 13 games from Wild Card weekend to the Super Bowl.
How do the NFL playoffs work?
The NFL playoffs are a 14-team knockout: 7 teams from each of the 2 conferences, 13 games in 4 rounds. Each conference seeds its 4 division winners 1 to 4 and its 3 best other teams 5 to 7. Only the 1 seed skips the first round, and the higher seed hosts every game before the Super Bowl.
The field has been 14 teams since the 2020 season; from 1990 to 2019 it was 12, with 2 byes per conference. Of the 32 teams, 14 qualify, so a little under half of the league (44%) plays in January. The NFL playoff picture shows who holds each of the 14 places today, and the NFL playoff bracket lays out the games those seeds would produce.
| Round | Games | Teams | Matchups per conference | Who hosts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card round | 6 | 12 (the 1 seeds rest) | 2 v 7, 3 v 6, 4 v 5 | The higher seed |
| Divisional round | 4 | 8 | 1 v lowest seed left; the other 2 meet | The higher seed |
| Conference championships | 2 | 4 | The 2 winners | The higher seed |
| Super Bowl | 1 | 2 | AFC champion v NFC champion | Neutral site, chosen in advance |
| Total | 13 | 14 | 7 per conference |
How many teams make the NFL playoffs?
Fourteen teams make the NFL playoffs, 7 from the AFC and 7 from the NFC, out of 32. Each conference sends its 4 division champions plus 3 wild cards, the 3 teams with the best records among the 12 that did not win a division. Ties on record are settled by the NFL tiebreakers.
Each conference has 16 teams in 4 divisions of 4, so 7 of 16 conference teams go through. The AFC standings and NFC standings rank all 16 in each conference in 1 table, with conference and division records beside the overall one.
How are NFL playoff seeds decided?
NFL playoff seeds are decided in 2 tiers: the 4 division winners are seeded 1 to 4 by record, then the 3 wild cards are seeded 5 to 7 by record. A division winner is always seeded above every wild card, even a wild card with 3 or 4 more wins, so the division matters as much as the record.
| Seed | Who gets it | First-round game | Home games possible before the Super Bowl |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Best division winner | Bye | 2 of 2 |
| 2 | 2nd-best division winner | Hosts the 7 seed | Up to 3 |
| 3 | 3rd-best division winner | Hosts the 6 seed | Up to 3 |
| 4 | 4th-best division winner | Hosts the 5 seed | Up to 3 |
| 5 | Best wild card | At the 4 seed | Up to 2 |
| 6 | 2nd wild card | At the 3 seed | Up to 1 |
| 7 | 3rd wild card | At the 2 seed | 0 |
The home-game column follows from the rule that the higher seed hosts: the 2 seed out-ranks everyone except the 1 seed, so it is at home until it meets the 1 seed in the conference final. The 7 seed is never the higher seed in any game, so it plays every round on the road. A 5 seed can host a lower wild card in the divisional round or the conference championship game; a 6 seed only in the conference championship game, against the 7 seed.
Does the NFL reseed in the playoffs?
Yes, the NFL reseeds its 8 remaining teams after the Wild Card round, so the bracket is not fixed in advance. In the divisional round the 1 seed hosts the lowest of the 3 seeds left in its conference, and the other 2 winners play at the higher seed's stadium. The 2 conferences never mix before the Super Bowl.
That is why a playoff bracket printed before the Wild Card round shows only the first 6 games. If the 7 seed wins in round 1, it goes to the 1 seed; if all 3 home teams win, the 1 seed gets the 4 seed and the 2 seed hosts the 3 seed.
Who gets a bye in the NFL playoffs?
Only 2 teams get a bye in the NFL playoffs, the 1 seed in each conference. They skip the Wild Card round, host a divisional game and need 3 wins to take the title, while the other 12 teams need 4. The 1 seed also hosts the conference championship game if it gets there.
Before 2020, the 1 and 2 seeds both had a bye. Adding a 7th team to each conference took the 2 seed's week off away, which is why the race for the 1 seed is now worth more than the race for the 2 seed. The playoff picture shows both 1 seeds and the teams level with them.
The 2026 NFL playoff seeds as a worked example
On 13 November 2026, with Week 10 under way and 137 of the season's 272 games played, these are the 14 teams that would make the playoffs if the season ended now. Every team has 8 or 9 games left, so this is an illustration of the format, not a forecast.
| Seed | AFC | Record | NFC | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Bills (AFC East) | 7-1 | San Francisco 49ers (NFC West) | 7-1 |
| 2 | Denver Broncos (AFC West) | 7-2 | Chicago Bears (NFC North) | 7-2 |
| 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars (AFC South) | 6-2 | New York Giants (NFC East) | 5-3-1 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC North) | 6-2 | Carolina Panthers (NFC South) | 3-5 |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs (wild card) | 6-2 | Detroit Lions (wild card) | 6-2 |
| 6 | Cincinnati Bengals (wild card) | 6-2 | Minnesota Vikings (wild card) | 6-2 |
| 7 | New England Patriots (wild card) | 5-4 | Green Bay Packers (wild card) | 6-3 |
The NFC shows the 2-tier rule at its sharpest. The NFC South leader, Carolina at 3-5, holds the 4 seed above 3 wild cards with 6 wins each, and as it stands would host the 6-2 Lions in the Wild Card round. The Giants, at 5-3-1, are the 3 seed ahead of 6-2 Detroit and Minnesota for the same reason: a tie counts as half a win, so 5-3-1 is a .611 record against .750, but the Giants lead the NFC East.
The NFC North holds 4 of the NFC's 7 places: the Bears as division leader and the Lions, Vikings and Packers as all 3 wild cards. In the AFC, the Patriots hold the 7 seed at 5-4 level on record with the Cleveland Browns, 0 games back, so the tiebreakers decide the last place for now. The Week 9 playoff picture walks through each race in more detail.
When are the NFL playoffs?
The NFL playoffs start the weekend after Week 18, the last of the regular season's 18 weeks, and run for 5 weekends in January and February. The Wild Card round's 6 games fill 1 weekend, then come the divisional round, the 2 conference championships, a week off, and the Super Bowl.
For the 2026 season, Week 18 closes the NFL schedule on 10 January 2027, and the Super Bowl, number LXI, is played in February 2027. Each team plays 17 regular-season games, and its team schedule page, such as the Bills', shows the games still to come.
Can an NFL playoff game end in a tie?
No, an NFL playoff game cannot end in a tie: overtime continues, in 15-minute periods, until 1 team wins. Since the 2022 season's playoffs both teams get at least 1 possession in overtime, even if the team that receives first scores a touchdown, so a coin toss alone cannot settle a playoff game.
Regular-season games can still end level, which is how the Giants (5-3-1) and the Washington Commanders (3-5-1) each carry a tie in 2026. In the standings, each tie counts as half a win and half a loss.
What happens to the teams that miss the playoffs?
The 18 teams that miss the NFL playoffs pick first in the next draft, picks 1 to 18, worst record first. The 14 playoff teams take picks 19 to 32 by the round they lose in, with the Super Bowl winner picking 32nd. Strength of schedule breaks ties on record for the draft.
The NFL draft order shows that order if the season ended today, and the strength of schedule table shows how hard each team's remaining games look. The NFL power rankings rank all 32 teams week by week.
Frequently asked questions
How many games does it take to win the Super Bowl?
A team needs 4 playoff wins to win the Super Bowl, or 3 if it is a 1 seed with a first-round bye. That means 3 or 4 games in January and the Super Bowl itself in February, after 17 regular-season games: as many as 21 games in a season.
Do wild card teams ever host a playoff game?
A wild card team hosts an NFL playoff game only when it meets a lower-seeded wild card, which can happen in 2 rounds: the divisional round or a conference championship game. A 5 seed playing a 6 or 7 seed, for example, is at home. In the Wild Card round, all 6 games are at division winners' stadiums.
Can a team with a losing record make the NFL playoffs?
Yes, a team with a losing record can make the NFL playoffs by winning its division, since all 4 division champions in each conference qualify. On 13 November 2026, the 3-5 Carolina Panthers lead the NFC South and hold the NFC's 4 seed. A wild card needs a better record, as it competes with 12 teams.
What is the difference between a division winner and a wild card?
A division winner finishes first of the 4 teams in its division and gets one of seeds 1 to 4, with a home game in the first round. A wild card is one of the 3 best teams left in the conference and gets seed 5, 6 or 7, starting on the road. The NFL standings show both races.
Where can I see the current NFL playoff bracket?
The current NFL playoff bracket, with all 14 seeds and the 6 Wild Card games they would produce, is on the Statz NFL bracket page. The playoff picture lists each conference's 7 seeds, the teams in the hunt with their games back, and the games each team has left.