We’re past the midway point of the NFL regular season, and while each week brings unexpected outcomes, the contenders for the 2024/2025 NFL Playoffs are beginning to emerge. Teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions are showcasing their dominance, while others are already setting their sights on the next draft. Despite varying performances, every NFL team technically remains in playoff contention at this stage.
As the NFL Playoffs approach, bringing with them the excitement of games broadcast weekly on platforms like Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock, it’s a good time to examine exactly how many teams qualify for the postseason and how the playoff structure unfolds.
The Number of NFL Playoff Teams: 14 Teams, 7 from Each Conference
For the 2024/2025 NFL season, the playoff field will consist of 14 teams. This is divided equally between the two NFL conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). Each conference sends seven teams to the playoffs. These seven spots are allocated to the four division winners from each conference, along with three additional teams known as “wild card” teams.
The division winners are the teams that finish the regular season with the best record within their respective divisions (NFC North, NFC South, NFC East, NFC West, and AFC North, AFC South, AFC East, AFC West). The wild card teams are the three teams in each conference with the best records that did not win their division.
It’s important to note that while 14 teams make the playoffs, their paths are not equal. This is where playoff seeding becomes crucial.
Understanding NFL Playoff Seeding: Why It Matters
Once the seven playoff teams from each conference are determined, they are assigned a seed number from 1 to 7. This seeding is based on their regular-season record, and tiebreakers are used to resolve any ties in records.
The team with the best record in the conference receives the coveted No. 1 seed. Conversely, the team with the least favorable record among the playoff teams (or the team losing tiebreakers) gets the No. 7 seed. The remaining teams are seeded in descending order of their regular-season record.
Playoff seeding is extremely significant for several reasons. Firstly, it dictates matchups: higher-seeded teams play against lower-seeded teams in the first round. Most importantly, the No. 1 seed in each conference earns a first-round bye. This bye allows them to skip the Wild Card round, providing a week of rest and home-field advantage in the Divisional Round.
History of NFL Playoff Expansion: From 12 to 14 Teams
The NFL playoff format has evolved over time. Prior to the 2020 season, only 12 teams made the playoffs – six from each conference. The expansion to 14 teams, implemented for the 2020 season and still in place today, added an extra wild card team per conference, increasing opportunities for more teams to compete for the Super Bowl.
2024-2025 NFL Playoff Schedule: Key Dates
Fans eager to follow the playoff action should mark these dates on their calendars:
- Wild Card Round: Saturday, January 11; Sunday, January 12; and Monday, January 13, 2025.
- Divisional Round: Saturday, January 18 and Sunday, January 19, 2025.
- Conference Championship Games: Sunday, January 26, 2025.
When is the 2025 Super Bowl?
The culmination of the NFL season, Super Bowl 2025, where the champions of the NFC and AFC clash, is scheduled for February 9, 2025.
Don’t miss any of the playoff drama! Watch the NFL playoff picture unfold each week on Sunday Night Football on NBC and Peacock!
