The NFL has extended its playoff games for the 2020 season, which means more teams will be in contention in the season’s closing weeks. As December progresses, an extra playoff place in each conference provides optimism for more fan bases.
Here’s all you need to know about the NFL’s extended postseason in 2022, as well as how many teams make the NFL playoffs. Fourteen clubs will compete in the NFL playoffs in 2022, seven teams from the AFC and seven from the NFC.
The article will go into depth analyzing the teams that enter the nfl playoffs.
Contents
How Many Teams Make The NFL Playoffs In 2021?
NFL Playoff
In 2020, the NFL playoffs will include fourteen teams, seven from the AFC and seven from the NFC. It is a new development for the 2020 season, with each conference receiving three wild card teams in addition to the four division winners.
Before 2020, the NFL extended the playoffs from the previous system of six teams in each conference. The more extensive field has no bearing on the number of postseason rounds, but it does impact the number of tiebreakers.
Instead of each conference’s top two seeds receiving a first-round bye, just the top seed in each league advances to the divisional round.
As a result of the expansion, the NFL would have two more clubs in the postseason, as well as two more games to play. Adding additional events to the NFL schedule means more revenue for the league.
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If COVID-19 precludes the opportunity to play a meaningful game, the NFL approved a backup plan earlier this year to increase the playoffs to 16 teams (which would likely mean not even in a created Week 18).
So it’s a remote possibility, but one to consider if the coronavirus strikes the NFL as the holidays approach.
NFL Playoff Bracket 2021
Here’s a look at the latest NFL championship game matchups for 2020, updated through Week 17:
AFC
- Kansas City Chiefs (bye).
- Buffalo Bills vs. 7. Indianapolis Colts.
- Pittsburgh Steelers vs. 6. Cleveland Browns.
- Tennessee Titans vs. 5. Baltimore Ravens.
NFC
- Green Bay Packers (bye).
- New Orleans Saints vs. 7. Chicago Bears.
- Seattle Seahawks vs. 6. Los Angeles Rams.
- Washington Football Team vs. 5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
NFL Tiebreakers For Playoffs
The NFL’s tiebreaker system is far from simple, so hope you can follow along.
To break a tie within a division between two teams:
- Head to head sweep (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best net points in common games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all games.
- Coin toss.
To break a tie within a division between three or more teams:
- Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games among the clubs).
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best net points in common games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all games.
- Coin toss.
To break a tie in the wild card between two clubs:
- Head-to-head, if applicable.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best net points in conference games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all games.
- Coin toss.
To break a tie in the wild card between three or more clubs:
- Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division before proceeding to step 2.
- The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tie breaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants.
- Head-to-head sweep.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best net points in conference games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all competitions.
- Coin toss.
How Many Wild Card Teams In NFL 2021 Playoffs?
Wild Card
In the NFL playoffs for the 2021 season, there will be 14 teams, with seven teams from each conference. Each conference will have three wild-card clubs and four division winners compete in the tournament.
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The Wild Card Game
Each conference’s division champion with the best regular-season record receives a bye in the first round of the playoffs and an automatic entry in the following, or Divisional, round.
The four division winners are placed one through four based on their records and in-season play, with the three wild card clubs positioned five through seven.
While the top-seeded team will get a week off, the number seven team will face the number two team, the number six team will face the number three team, and the number five team will face the number four team.
The Divisional Round
Basketball Playoff
In the second game, the team with the lowest remaining seed faces the rested number one, whereas the other two teams play each other. In the third round, the better-seeded clubs receive home-field advantage in both stages and the national football Conference Championship game.
The Super Bowl
The format will be the same in each championship, with the two conference champions meeting in the Super Bowl. Seeding is not required at this time.
The Super Bowl is always hosted in a neutral venue, usually in the south or sunbelt of the United States, with the nominal home team rotating between the conferences.
The Tennessee Titans would be seeded first in the AFC super Wild Card weekend if the season finished today, with a first-round playoff berth. The Buffalo Bills would be placed seventh and would have to face the Baltimore Ravens, who would be seeded second.
The Los Angeles Chargers would be placed sixth and meet the third-seeded New England Patriots, while the Cincinnati Bengals would be ranked fifth and face the fourth-seeded Kansas City Chiefs.
As of Week 11, the Arizona Cardinals were in first place in the NFC, with a first-round bye. The New Orleans Saints, now in seventh place, would travel to face the second-placed Green Bay Packers.
The third-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers would play the sixth-seeded Minnesota Vikings at home, while the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Rams would travel to Texas to play the fourth-seeded Dallas Cowboys.
NFL Postseason Schedule
14 Teams Join In The NFL Playoffs
The NFL playoff structure is complicated and features distinct ranks. As we all know, the 14 NFL teams that will compete in the playoffs will be seeded based on their previous round results. The following is an example:
- Each conference’s four division champions will be assigned a number from 1 to 4. The total number of points on each team’s win/loss determines the winner.
- Three wild card teams will fill the 5th, 6th, and 7th seeds. These three qualifiers must be the clubs who have performed the best against the rest of the Conference.
- The tie-breaking rule will determine the order if two clubs have a tied record during the regular season.
The opening round of the NFL playoffs is known as the wild card round. They’re also known as super wild card weekends in certain regions. The other teams will compete against each other, except for the 1st seed team, exempted from this round.
The second-seeded club will face the seventh seed, the third-seeded team will face the sixth wild card team, and the fourth-seeded squad will meet the fifth-seeded team.
Teams who advance from the first round will go to the divisional round. This round follows the same structure as the wild card round, with the highest-ranked teams facing the lowest-ranked team in order.
Each Conference’s two division winners go to the conference championship game’s third round.
The Super Bowl is a competition between the AFC and NFC conference winners. The league will establish a neutral site for the event ahead of time.
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoy this article and understand how many teams make the NFL playoffs. If you are unsatisfied with our information, please refer to Langley Rams for more helpful news. Thank you for reading!
