NFL playoff format explainer: Your guide to each round of the NFL postseason

The NFL playoff field is set and 14 teams are ready to compete for the ultimate season achievement in the NFL: a Super Bowl victory. By Sunday, Feb. 9, a champion will be crowned for the 2024 NFL season.

Until then, a single-elimination tournament in each conference will narrow the field down to two teams, one from the AFC and one from the NFC. Those two conference champions will compete in Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.

The Super Bowl is the final part of the four-round NFL postseason. Here's how each part of the playoffs work:

NFL playoff format

There are seven teams from each conference in the playoffs. They include:

• Four division winners from the North, South, East and West divisions

• Three wild card teams (top remaining teams by win-loss record)

The division winners occupy the top four seeds of the conference playoff bracket, even if a wild card team has a better record. This is the case in both conferences this season as the division winner with the worst record in both the AFC and NFC has fewer wins than the top wild card team.

The division winners are then ordered in the top four seeds by regular season record. Tiebreakers can be used if teams have the same record. As an example this year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned the No. 3 seed in the NFC over the Los Angeles Rams despite having the same 10-7 record because the Buccaneers had a better win percentage in conference games (8-4 to 6-6).

The playoffs have four rounds: wild card, divisional, conference championship and Super Bowl. The first three rounds happen in consecutive weeks before a two-week break ahead of the Super Bowl.

Here's how each round is formatted:

NFL wild card round format

• No. 1 seed has a bye

• No. 2 seed hosts No. 7 seed

• No. 3 seed hosts No. 6 seed

• No. 4 seed hosts No. 5 seed

NFL divisional round format

• No. 1 seed hosts lowest remaining seed from the wild card round.

• The second-highest remaining seed hosts the second-lowest remaining seed.

NFL conference championship round format

• Divisional round winners face off with the higher seed hosting the game.

NFL Super Bowl format

• Conference championship winners play at a neutral site.

  • Super Bowl 59 will be held at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

NFL playoff seeds

AFC

• No. 1 seed: Kansas City Chiefs (15-2, AFC West winners)

• No. 2 seed: Buffalo Bills (13-4, AFC East winners)

• No. 3 seed: Baltimore Ravens (12-5, AFC North winners)

• No. 4 seed: Houston Texans (10-7, AFC South winners)

• No. 5 seed: Los Angeles Chargers (11-6, wild card No. 1)

• No. 6 seed: Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, wild card No. 2)

• No. 7 seed: Denver Broncos (10-7, wild card No. 3)

NFC

• No. 1 seed: Detroit Lions (15-2, NFC North winners)

• No. 2 seed: Philadelphia Eagles (14-3, NFC East winners)

• No. 3 seed: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7, NFC South winners)

• No. 4 seed: Los Angeles Rams (10-7, NFC West winners)

• No. 5 seed: Minnesota Vikings (14-3, wild card No. 1)

• No. 6 seed: Washington Commanders (12-5, wild card No. 2)

• No. 7 seed: Green Bay Packers (11-6, wild card No. 3)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL playoff format explainer: How does the postseason work?