How Do NFL Playoffs Work?

The NFL playoffs happen every year, but have you ever wondered, how do NFL playoffs work? There are so many variables and factors that go into how a team makes it to the playoffs. Once the regular season comes to an end, 14 teams battle it out in the playoff season. These 14 teams are fighting to make it to the Super Bowl. Many people lack the details about how all of this works. It can get confusing. But don’t you worry, we’ve got it all figured out for you so you can better understand how NFL playoffs work.

How Do The NFL Playoffs Work?

The regular season comes before the playoff season. The regular season runs from September to December. After December, the regular season comes to an end and playoff season comes next. Playoffs start in February. The regular season consists of the 32 professional football teams in the NFL. All of these teams will end up playing 16 games. Normally they play against teams in their division. At the end of the season, 7 teams will play in the playoffs. You may be wondering who are the 7 teams that get to play in the playoffs. The first 4 teams will be the best in their divisions and the other 3 teams will be runner ups. The teams battle it out until there are two teams left from each conference. Next comes the Super Bowl. This is the biggest game in the NFL. Here the winner is deemed the NFL champion.

Seems Simple…

The above explanation seems rather simple when aiming to understand how do the NFL playoffs work. How do the NFL playoffs work 2022 may differ year by year due to rule changes. But the above summary is generally how football teams will play during the regular season. The top teams will battle it out in the playoff season. Lastly, there will be two teams that will face each other in the Super Bowl.

What Is NFL Seeding And Why Is It Important?

Are you familiar with the term seeding when it comes down to professional football? The seeding system is simple to understand. The football team with the best record gets the first seed in the seeding system. The team with the second best record gets the second SEED. This pattern continues with the third and fourth teem. Teams with the best records get the top seeds. The fifth seed goes to a wildcard team. Wildcard teams get the fifth, sixth and seventh seed.

Seeding impacts the playoff games which is why seeding is so important. The highest seed gets home advantage. This is another reason why seeding is so important and impactful to the playoffs. Now the first seed gets a bye into the divisional round. Each conference has a first seed. These first seeds get both a bye and home field for the entire way leading up to the Super Bowl.

What Are Wildcard Teams In The NFL Playoffs?

Wanting to know how does the NFL playoffs work requires understanding what are wildcard teams. Wildcard teams come behind division winners. They are the runner ups. Three of these runner up teams are selected to be wildcard teams. Wildcard teams play seeds two, three and four. These teams play three games on the road.

Upsets do occur during Wildcard Weekend. This can change some things. When these upsets occur sometimes the wildcard teams may end up not playing on the road. However for the majority of the time, the wildcard teams will be on the road playing their games. Here’s a fun fact for you. No two wildcard teams have played against each other in the Super Bowl.

Reaching The Super Bowl

It is known that reaching the Super Bowl is a major accomplishment. Teams work hard and train all year to get a chance to play in the Super Bowl. The major accomplishment of making it to the Super Bowl would not be possible without the playoff season. How the NFL playoffs work are fairly simple. However, there are rules and procedures that determine who plays who and where these teams play. This process births the final two teams who compete in football’s biggest game every February.