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What is the NFL playoff format? How the NFL playoffs work for the 2024-25 postseason

ayrton ostly, usa today
·3 min read

The most thrilling part of the NFL season is nearly here. The NFL playoffs are just a week away as the best teams in both conferences contend for this year's Super Bowl title.

Starting in the 2020-21 playoffs, the NFL expanded to a 14-team playoff field from the prior 12-team format. To begin Super Wild Card Weekend, we go from 32 teams to 14. Here's everything you need to know about the NFL playoff format this season:

NFL playoff format

The NFL playoff format is a single-elimination tournament of seven teams in the AFC and NFC, including:

  • Four division winners (South, North, East, and West)

  • Three wild card teams (best remaining teams by record)

The division winner with the best record receives the No. 1 seed in their conference, plays their playoff games at home, and gets a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

The playoffs have four rounds: the wild card round, divisional round, conference championship games, and the Super Bowl. There is an extra week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

Wild card round

  • 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

Divisional round

  • The No. 1 seed hosts the lowest remaining seed.

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

Conference championship game

  • Divisional round winners (higher seed hosts)

Super Bowl

  • Conference championship winners play at a neutral site.

    • This year's Super Bowl will be played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

When do the NFL playoffs start?

The NFL playoffs kick off on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 1 p.m. ET for the first game of the wild-card round.

Here's how the full schedule breaks down for the 2024-25 NFL playoffs.

  • Wild card round: Jan. 11-13, 2025

  • Divisional round: Jan. 18-19, 2025

  • Conference championship: Jan. 26, 2025

  • Super Bowl: Feb. 9, 2025

NFL playoff picture

AFC

NFC

NFL playoff bracket

These are the current wild card matchups, given the state of the playoff picture:

AFC wild card

  • No. 2 Buffalo Bills vs. No. 7 Denver Broncos

  • No. 3 Baltimore Ravens vs. No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers

  • No. 4 Houston Texans vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers

NFC wild card

  • No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles vs. No. 7 Green Bay Packers

  • No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. No. 6 Washington Commanders

  • No. 4 Los Angeles Rams vs. No. 5 Minnesota Vikings

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL playoff format explainer: Schedule, bracket for NFL playoffs