The NFL Playoffs have changed significantly in recent years as the NFL has restructured. Recently, the NFL expanded the field from six teams in each conference making the postseason to seven teams in each conference. This enhanced field leads to more teams in the playoffs and more games for fans to enjoy.
There are two conferences in the NFL, the AFC, and the NFC. Each conference has four divisions, with each division housing four teams. Last season, the NFL made another significant change, adding a week to the season and bumping the number of regular season games from 16 games to 17. NFL teams play each team in their division twice, a team from a different NFC and AFC division once, and then three random out-of-division games.
Once the regular season is finished, the teams with the best record in each division will make the playoffs. They account for 4 of the seven teams in each conference that make the playoffs. Then, the three teams with the best record that didn’t win their division in each conference will make the playoffs.
The team with the best record in each conference will get a bye past the first round of the playoffs, which is called the Wild Card round. In each conference, the two seed will play the seven seed, the three seed will play the six seed, and the four seed will play the five seed. The winner of each game moves on to the divisional round. The winner of the divisional round moves on to the Conference Championship, and the winner of that game advances to the Super Bowl.
What did we have this NFL Playoffs?
This NFL playoff was a thrilling one, and the Super Bowl will be the perfect way to cap it off. 14 worthy teams made the playoffs, and each experienced varying levels of success. The two NFC East teams, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, both suffered major letdowns. They were obliterated in the Wild Card Round, and head into the offseason rethinking many things. The Buccaneers and Packers both outperformed expectations.
The Houston Texans played an incredibly strong first game, led by upstart C.J. Stroud. They ran into a buzzsaw in the second round, losing to the first-seeded Baltimore Ravens. In Detroit, fans were treated to the first two playoff wins since the 1990s and an unlikely run to the Conference Championship game. The Dolphins took a hard loss in a frigid game in Kansas City, and the Bills experienced more postseason heartbreak at the hands of the Chiefs.
Ultimately, the final story of this playoffs will be the two teams that are left standing. The Kansas City Chiefs entered the postseason with a lot of doubt. They proved the haters wrong, and showed why Patrick Mahomes is an all-time legend already. The beat a tough slate of teams, handling the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and Baltimore Ravens en route to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, San Francisco looked shaky in both games, barely skating by the Packers and needing a frenetic comeback to beat the Detroit Lions.
But after about a month of playoff action, the final round is set. It is a dream matchup between two of the top franchises in the league. It is sure to be a classic, and will attract a massive amount of viewers and bettors around the country.