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Football

2025 NFL playoff explainer: How does the format work?

Tayyib Abu
2025 NFL playoff explainer: How does the format work?Getty
How does the NFL's playoff format work?

The NFL playoffs follow the 18 week regular-season. When the playoffs begin the race to the Super Bowl is truly on

Fourteen teams participate in the playoffs, hoping to win the Super Bowl.

But how does the NFL playoff format work? Here is DAZN's explainer for the NFL playoffs. 

How many teams qualify?

The NFL expanded its current playoff format to 14 teams in 2020. Seven teams from the AFC and seven from the NFC will make up the field. 

The previous system saw six teams from each conference qualify. Now, three wildcard teams will join the four divisional winners. 

How does the format work?

The NFL playoffs feature three rounds of playoff games before the Super Bowl. Those rounds are Super Wildcard Weekend, the Divisional Round, and the Conference Championship Round. 

Under the current system, 12 of the 14 teams must play in all three rounds. The number one seeds in the NFC and AFC get a bye into the second round. They do not play on Super Wildcard Weekend.

Moreover, those teams will play all their playoff games at home. In addition to having the bye week, those two teams will always play the lowest remaining seed for their playoff matches. 

The rest of the seedings determine the matches for Super Wildcard Weekend. 

How many teams advance from Super Wildcard Weekend?

Three teams from each conference will advance from Super Wildcard Weekend to the Divisional Round.

They will join the top seeds, meaning that the field of 14 will drop to eight in round two.

That will again halve for the Conference Championship round. 

When is the Super Bowl?

Super Bowl LIX will take place on Sunday February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Watch the NFL 2024 season live on DAZN

 

NFL Game Pass

 

NFL Game Pass on DAZN gives you access to watch every NFL game during the 2024 regular season and playoffs, including the Super Bowl. This is available worldwide on DAZN, excluding the United States and China.

That's 335 games per season, and each match is available live* and on demand and is available either as a standalone subscription - monthly or annually - or as an add-on to an existing DAZN package to customers**.

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*In the United Kingdom, up to two Sunday games per week will air on DAZN on a 24-hour tape delay.

** Viewers in Canada can access all NFL content through their regular DAZN subscription.

 

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