sports made easy

Home | About Us | Football | Baseball | Contact Us

Football

National Football League Divisions and Playoff Format

National Football Conference

Eastern Division Philadelphia Eagles New York Giants Washington Redskins Dallas Cowboys	North Division Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings Detroit Lions	South Division New Orleans Saints Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers Tampa Bay Buccaneers
	Western Division San Franciso 49'ers St. Louis Rams Seattle Seahawks Arizona Cardinals

American Football Conference

Eastern Division New England Patriots New York Jets Miami Dolphins Buffalo Bills	North Division Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns	South Division Indianapolis Colts Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars Tennessee Titans
	Western Division Denver Broncos San Diego Chargers Kansas City Chiefs Oakland Raiders

The National Football League playoffs begin in January and concludes with the most watched television event of the entire year, the Super Bowl on the first Sunday in February. A total of 12 of the 32 teams in the NFL make the playoffs. Six from the National Football Conference and six from the American Football Conference. The six teams from each conference are determined from the four division winners and two “wild card” winners. The two wild card winners are determined from the teams with the two best records from among the non-division winners. The two division winners with the best record in each conference don’t have to play in the first round and automatically get into the second round of the playoffs. The first weekend of the NFL Playoffs is called the Wild Card Round. There are two games on that Saturday and two games on that Sunday. The winners of these four games move onto the second round which is called the Divisional Round. The Divisional Round also has two games on that Saturday and two games on that Sunday. It is in this round that the top two teams from each conference are waiting. The teams that didn’t have to play in the Wild Card Round are very dangerous because they are really good, well rested and playing at home. This is their reward for having a great regular season. The four winners of the Divisional Round move onto the third round which is Conference Championship Sunday. Conference Championship Sunday consists of a championship game for the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The champions of the NFC and AFC move on to the Super Bowl. Throughout the playoffs the team with the better record during the regular season will be the team playing on their home field. The site of the Super Bowl is determined years in advance, so there is no home field advantage in the Super Bowl. This season the Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, February 7th in Miami.