In the National Football League (NFL), the playoffs are an intense and exciting conclusion to the regular season. Fans eagerly anticipate which teams will compete for the ultimate goal, the Super Bowl championship. However, one recurring question arises: how many teams make the NFL playoffs?
The NFL playoffs consist of a total of 14 teams – seven from each conference, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). This structure has been in place since the expansion of the playoffs in 2020.
To begin the postseason journey, four division winners from each conference automatically clinch a playoff spot. These division winners are determined based on their regular season records. The team with the best record in each division becomes the division champion.
Apart from the four division winners, the next three teams with the best records in each conference secure the remaining playoff positions as wild cards. This means that even if a team does not win their division, they can still advance to the playoffs with a strong regular season performance.
The playoffs kick off with the Wild Card round, where the two wild card teams from each conference face the division winners. This round consists of a total of six games, three in each conference. With a win in the Wild Card round, teams advance to the Divisional round.
The Divisional round narrows down the competition, with the top two seeds in each conference joining the action. These four teams receive a bye in the Wild Card round as a reward for their exceptional regular season records. The winners from the Divisional round move on to the Conference Championship games.
Lastly, the Conference Championship games determine the AFC and NFC champions. The victorious teams from each conference then earn their spot in the highly anticipated Super Bowl, where they battle it out for the prestigious title of NFL champion.
To recap, a total of 14 teams qualify for the NFL playoffs – four division winners and three wild cards from each conference. The playoff structure guarantees an exciting and competitive postseason featuring the best teams in the league, culminating in the crowning of the Super Bowl champion.