NFL Wildcard Rules

The NFL consists of two conferences with four divisions each, and the champions of each division qualify for the playoffs at the end of the season. In addition, two other teams in each conference are selected as "wild cards" and enter the playoffs as well.

  1. Selection

    • The wild-card teams constitute the two teams in each conference--after the division winners--with the best overall records.

    Tiebreakers

    • In cases where two potential wild-card teams have identical records, the NFL applies a series of tiebreakers, starting with head-to-head match ups and descending through 11 more criteria.

    Seeding

    • The wild-card teams are seeded fifth and sixth in their respective conference's playoff picture. The wild-card team with the best record gets the fifth seed and the remaining wild card team gets the sixth seed, with tiebreakers applied when necessary.

    On the Road

    • Wild-card teams almost never host a playoff game. They play their first game on the road against the third- and fourth-seeded division winners (the first- and second-seeded division winners get the week off), and will only host a game in the event a fifth-seeded wild-card team meets a sixth-seeded wild-card team later on in the playoffs.

    Super Bowl Winners

    • Between 1970 (when the wild card was introduced) and 2009, five wild card teams advanced to win the Super Bowl: The 1980 Oakland Raiders, the 1997 Denver Broncos, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 2007 New York Giants.