The 2024-25 NFL playoffs are now here and this is when the race to the Super Bowl truly starts.
Fourteen teams participate in the playoffs, hoping to win the Super Bowl.
But how does the NFL playoff format work? DAZN News explains it all for the NFL playoffs, plus the fixtures for each round this season.
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, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, live on DAZN.
Who are in the 2024-25 NFL playoffs?
AFC
- Kansas City Chiefs (15-2, AFC West winners)
- Buffalo Bills (13-4, AFC East winners)
- Baltimore Ravens (12-5, AFC North winners)
- Houston Texans (10-7, AFC South winners)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-6, wild card No. 1)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, wild card No. 2)
- Denver Broncos (10-7, wild card No. 3)
NFC
- Detroit Lions (15-2, NFC North winners)
- Philadelphia Eagles (14-3, NFC East winners)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7, NFC South winners)
- Los Angeles Rams (10-7, NFC West winners)
- Minnesota Vikings (14-3, wild card No. 1)
- Washington Commanders (12-5, wild card No. 2)
- Green Bay Packers (11-6, wild card No. 3)
Super Wildcard Weekend schedule
All wildcard games are live on NFL Game Pass on DAZN. Sign up here
(4) Houston Texans vs (5) Los Angeles Chargers
(3) Baltimore Ravens vs (6) Pittsburgh Steelers
(2) Buffalo Bills vs (7) Denver Broncos
(2) Philadelphia Eagles vs (7) Green Bay Packers
(4) Los Angeles Rams vs (5) Minnesota Vikings
Watch the NFL 2024 season live on DAZN
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**.
Sign up to Game Pass* now to watch every playoff game and Super Bowl LIX live.
You can watch NFL on DAZN literally everywhere and in any way, via your Smart TV, smartphone, tablet, game console, and PC/MAC/laptop.
For more information and to sign up, head here now.
*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.