How Many Teams Make the NFL Playoffs?

NFL Season Format

Before looking at the playoff format, it’s useful to understand how NFL seasons are formatted, so you know when to watch for games with your favorite team and how they’ll move on to the next round if they win.

There are thirty-two teams in the NFL, and they play at thirty different stadiums across the United States, with the New York Giants and New York Jets sharing a stadium, and the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers sharing a stadium. Over the course of a regular season (which is 18 weeks long, with one bye week free), a total of 272 games will be played. That’s 17 games per team.

The way the teams face off is extremely strict and was updated for maximum fairness and efficiency in 2021. Every team will play the other teams in its division two times, with one home game and one away game each. 

Using a rotation system, they will play once against each of the teams in a division for a total of four games, two at home and two away. They will play once against one team from the remaining two divisions, once against four teams from a division based on rotation, and one game against a team with similar standing from the prior year.

The newer format may seem a little complicated, but it allows teams to compete against other teams with similar talent and capability and makes the game more evenly matched, which means it’s more fun for fans across the country.

The regular NFL season will run from September to January. Once the regular season is over, the qualifying teams will begin preparation for the playoffs, with the ultimate goal of landing a spot — or potentially winning — the Super Bowl. 

NFL Playoffs

Thirty-two teams play in the NFL regular season, but only fourteen of those become playoff teams. The Dallas Cowboys hold the record for the highest number of playoff games, with 66, whereas the New England Patriots have the highest number of playoff wins, with 37. 

At the end of the playoffs, the two teams, one from each the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC) will meet each other on the Super Bowl field, to determine the final champion for the season. 

Unlike the regular season, the NFL playoffs follow a single-elimination format. Seven teams from each of the two conferences will go into the playoffs, which includes the four division championship game winners (North, South, East, and West) and three wild card game winners, which are the remaining teams with the best overall records. Ten Wild Card teams have made it to the Super Bowl, and seven Wild Card teams have won the Super Bowl in NFL history, most recently the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.

Wild Card Round

The first round of the Playoffs has been called the Wild-Card Round, Wild-Card Weekend, and, as of 2021, Super Wild-Card Weekend. The division winners with the best record from each conference get what is called an automatic first-round bye to advance them to the second round.

Except for the first-seeded team, the other teams face off in an upward and downward format, with the top-seed team having the home-field advantage. That means the seventh-seeded will compete against the second-seeded, the third against the sixth, and the fourth against the fifth.

Divisional Round 

The next round is called the Divisional Round, and the first-seeded team that automatically advanced will then host the lowest remaining team from the previous round, with the other two winners playing against each other. Ultimately, it continues until the teams meet in their conference championships for either the AFC Championship or the NFC Championship. 

Once the winners of these two conferences are determined, the stage is set for the largest and most important game of the year—the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl 

The Super Bowl is always hosted at a neutral location to remove any home-field advantage, and there have been 57 Super Bowls in the history of the sport, with six franchises claiming 30 of those coveted Lombardi Trophies: New England Patriots (6), Pittsburgh Steelers (6),  San Francisco 49ers (5), Dallas Cowboys (5), Green Bay Packers (4), Kansas City Chiefs (4), and New York Giants (4). 

Other top Super Bowl winners include the Oakland Raiders, Washington Commanders, and Denver Broncos, all of whom have three wins. Of course, the Super Bowl is anyone’s game. From the Seattle Seahawks and the Tennessee Titans to the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings, you never know who’s going to face off in football’s biggest match. 

There has been a Super Bowl played once a year since 1967.  

It’s important to note that tiebreakers are required to proceed, like playoff berths for teams with the same standing. In the rare event of a tie at this stage in the season, tiebreaking rules and guidelines are followed to determine a winner, which will vary depending on where in the playoffs the teams are when a tie occurs. 

Guidelines for tiebreaking will vary depending on the division and conference. Since games in the postseason require a winner in order to determine seed location and playoffs, overtime is played as long as necessary. There is currently no limit to the amount of overtime that can be played to reach a winner, and the most overtime periods played in an NFL game are recorded at two. 

The longest game in the history of the sport was between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs and lasted over 82 minutes. 

Plan Your Next Playoff Game Day With TickPick Today

Whether you’re rooting for the Browns, the Saints, or the Colts, there’s nothing more exciting than cheering on your favorite team as they win during the regular NFL season and go on to the playoffs. After all, what could be better than watching them win the Super Bowl? 

The more you know about the way the game is played, both during the regular season and beyond, the easier it will be to cheer on the teams and players you love, to anticipate the needs of a team as they move further along in the season, and to make predictions about what future games and plays might hold.

While the playoff picture might look a little complicated, it’s easier than it might seem to follow along as the season progresses. TickPick is here to help you do just that, with affordable tickets to all your favorite games, both during the season and in the playoffs. Begin planning the next playoff game day today with TickPick.