NFL Playoff Format: The NFL playoffs are back finally! After an incredible regular season, we’re all set to gear up for another great postseason run.
Advertisement
The longest NFL season in history has just concluded, and we’re at the point that fans have been waiting for since day one: the playoffs. The hunt for the Super Bowl is back on and every team in the playoffs is going to be hungry, hoping they can reach NFL glory.
The first NFL playoff game is all set to take place today as the Cincinnati Bengals will take on the Las Vegas Raiders at 4:30 p.m. EST. NFL fans get ready. The most exciting football is about to be played, and we’re all witness.
Also Read: Reddit NFL Streams: How to Watch Every NFL Wild Card Game for Free Without r/nflstreams
NFL PLayoff Format
How many teams make the NFL playoffs?
The NFL used to have a six-team playoff format from each conference where the top two seeds in both the AFC and NFC would earn byes, while the remaining four teams would face each other in the Wild Card round.
Last year, the NFL has expanded to include one more team per side, making it a seven total teams from each conference. The seedings mean something different now, and the format is completely different. These are the seven teams to make it from each conference this year.
NFC
- Green Bay Packers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Dallas Cowboys
- Los Angeles Rams
- Arizona Cardinals
- San Francisco 49ers
- Philadelphia Eagles
AFC
- Tennessee Titans
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Buffalo Bills
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New England Patriots
- Pittsburgh Steelers
How do the NFL playoffs work in 2022?
The NFL obviously had to change how the playoffs worked, and the new format is both intriguing and entertaining. Before, the top two seeds in the NFL used to earn a bye-week.
Now, however, only the first seed does. That means only the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans will be privy to an extra week of rest before the playoffs begin for them. This also means that they’re the only two teams to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The other six teams will face each other in the NFL’s ‘Super Wild Card’ weekend with the highest seeds matching up against the lowest seeds. The matchups for this year are:
- #2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. #7 Philadelphia Eagles
- #3 Dallas Cowboys vs. #6 San Francisco 49ers
- #4 Los Angeles Rams vs. #5 Arizona Cardinals
- #2 Kansas City Chiefs vs. # 7 Pittsburgh Steelers
- #3 Buffalo Bills vs. #6 New England Patriots
- #4 Cincinnati Bengals vs. #5 Las Vegas Raiders
After these matchups, the #1 seed takes on the lowest remaining seed in the divisional round while the other two face off against each other. So, for example, if the #2, #6, and #5 seeds were to win in the NFC, the #1 seed woulf face the #6 seed while the #2 and #5 seeds would play each other.
