How Are NFL Wild Card Teams Selected?

The National Football League has 32 teams, but only 12 of them advance to the playoffs. The four divisional champions in each conference along with two additional teams (who did not win their division) with the next best records get to compete for the Super Bowl. These two non-division winners are known as "wild cards." The wild card system has changed several times since it was introduced following the AFC-NFC merger in 1970; the current system of four division winners and two wild-card teams in each conference was adopted in 2002.

  1. Basics

    • The simplest way of determining NFL wild card teams is their won-lost records. There are four divisions in both conferences (NFC and AFC). The champions from each division get automatic berths in the postseason. The two wild-card teams from each conference are the two teams with the best record that did not win their division.

    TIebreaker for Teams in the Same Division

    • If there are two clubs within the same division who end the regular season with identical won-lost records that are first or second among non-division winners, the NFL has a series of tie-breakers to determine which team wins the wild-card berth.

      According to NFL.com, these tie-breakers are:
      Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between clubs
      Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
      Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games
      Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference
      Strength of victory
      Strength of schedule
      Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed
      Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed
      Best net points in common games
      Best net points in all games
      Best net touchdowns in all games
      Coin toss

    Tiebreaker for Two Non-Divisional Teams

    • In the event that two non-divisional teams end the regular season with identical won-lost records and are tied for a wild-card berth, the NFL has a series of 11 tie-breakers.

      According to NFL.com, these are:
      Head-to-head (if applicable)
      Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference
      Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games (minimum 4)
      Strength of victory
      Strength of schedule
      Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed
      Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed
      Best net points in conference games
      Best net points in all games
      Best net touchdowns in all games
      Coin toss

    Tie-breaker for Three or More Teams

    • In the rare event that the regular season ends with three or more clubs tied for a wild-card position, there are 12 steps in deciding who gets the playoff berth.

      According to NFL.com, the first step is to apply division tiebreaker to eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to Step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tiebreaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two wild-card participants.

      After that, the tie-breakers are:
      Head-to-head sweep (applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others)
      Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference
      Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games (minimum 4)
      Strength of victory
      Strength of schedule
      Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed
      Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed
      Best net points in conference games
      Best net points in all games
      Bbest net touchdowns in all games
      Coin toss

    Procedures for Second Wild-Card Team

    • When the first wild-card team has been identified, the procedure is repeated to name the second wild card--eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to Step 2, according to NFL.com. In situations where three or more teams from the same division are involved in the procedure, the original seeding of the teams remains the same for subsequent applications of the tie breaker if the top-ranked team in that division qualifies for a wild-card berth.