Video:How are the NFL Playoffs Organized?
with Chris DavisThe NFL playoffs are the most exciting part about the football season but the way it is organized can get a little confusing. Let's break down how football teams are matched up during the NFL playoffs
Transcript:How are the NFL Playoffs Organized?
Hi, I'm Chris Davis for About.com. The NFL playoffs are the most exciting part of the NFL season. Let's take a look at how the teams move through the playoffs?
Football Teams with the Highest Division Record Go to the Playoffs
Each NFL conference, the NFC and the AFC, have 6 teams that will emerge out of their 16 teams to make the playoffs. These six teams all have an equal chance to represent their conference in the Super Bowl. There are four divisions in each conference and every team that wins their division makes it into the playoffs. In the case of a division tie, the head to head record between the two teams are used, if a tie still exists then the division record is used.
Two Wild Card Teams are Selected from Both Football Conferences
There are also two wildcard teams from each conference. A wildcard team is determined by a team with the best record who didn't win their division. A division can have one playoff participant or up to three. The highest seeded team hosts the playoff game with exception of the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl site is always predetermined many years in advance. The top two division winners do not have to play the first round (they receive a "bye') so they automatically advance to the second round (1st and 2nd seed).
Each Football Team is a Seed on the NFL Playoff Bracket
In the first round, the 3rd best division winner gets to play the worst team (6th seed) to make the playoffs. The 4th division winner (4th seed) plays the best wildcard team (5th seed). The second round features the lowest seeded team, who won in round 1, to play the 1st seeded division winner, who had a bye in the first round. The highest remaining first round winning team plays the 2nd seeded team. The winners of the second round play each other for the chance to play in the Super Bowl. This is called the divisional championship round. This occurs in both the NFC and AFC conferences.
The winners of the conference championship game face each other in the Super Bowl. Stand up: The Super Bowl game determines which team receives the Lombardi trophy, which is named after Vince Lombardi, the coach who won the first two Super Bowls.
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