Getty The NFL playoffs feature 12 teams that make the postseason.
There are 12 teams that make the NFL playoffs each season with the top four teams earning a first-round bye. The AFC and NFC each get six NFL playoff spots each with the four division winners and two Wild Card teams per conference. The 2020 NFL playoffs start on Saturday, Januar 4 as Wild Card weekend gets underway.
The following division winners get an automatic playoff berth: AFC East, AFC West, AFC North, AFC South, NFC East, NFC West, NFC North and NFC South. The top four seeds in both the AFC and NFC are awarded to the division winners. This format is why the NFC East winner, likely the Cowboys or Eagles, will host a Wild Card opponent, potentially the 49ers or Seahawks, despite likely finishing with an inferior record.
Despite the potential for a team with a losing record to host a double-digit win opponent, the NFL has no plans to revise the format. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the idea to take the top six teams in each conference has gained “zero steam.”
A source with knowledge of the NFL’s thinking said the idea of reseeding teams has come up but “has gotten zero steam. It’s never been a consideration.”
A total of four Wild Card seeds, two in the NFC and AFC, advance to the postseason based purely on the records of the teams that are not division winners. The top two teams in each conference get a first-round bye and at least one postseason home game.
The NFL Does Not Use a Fixed-Bracket System
The NFL does not use a fixed playoff bracket meaning the top seed in each conference faces the lowest remaining seed. The No. 2 seed in the conference then faces the higher remaining seed. This means the NFL does operate in a traditional bracket structure that tournaments like March Madness use where the bracket is fixed regardless of who advances.
The NFL Playoffs Have 3 Stages: Wild Card, Divisional Round & Conference Championships
The NFL playoffs are essentially structured as a three-round tournament to determine who makes the Super Bowl. The two Wild Card weekend winners in each conference advance to play against the top two seeds in the Divisional Round.
The two winners in each conference then square off in the AFC Championship and NFC Championship. All this leads to the Super Bowl between the AFC and NFC champions, which is a neutral site championship game where the location changes each year. Broncos head coach Vic Fangio recently advocated for the NFL to abandon divisions and allow the top 12 teams across both conferences to advance to the playoffs.
“Since the league went to 32 teams, which was when the Texans came in in 2002, my ideal suggestion — which has never been put forth in front of anybody important — I don’t think there should be divisions,” Fangio said, via 9News Denver. “…You’re going to get the six best teams in each conference. The divisions always float. There are some that are easy some years, some that have a bunch of good teams, that switches back and forth every couple years. I just think that’d be a good way to avoid it, but I’m not for 17 games. I think it should stay at 16.”