How the NFL 2025 Playoffs work – schedule and road | NFL News

The 2024 NFL common season has formally completed, and the playoffs will kick off this weekend forward of Super Bowl 59. Following an intense 18 weeks of competitors, 14 sides have emerged victorious and will now advance to the postseason video games.

The Wildcard rounds are up first, adopted by the Divisional match-ups, and lastly, the Conference Championship video games – all resulting in the national championship on February 9. The 14 groups, evenly divided between the AFC and NFC, will quickly be decreased to simply two from every convention. These two will face off in the 59th version of the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The AFC has claimed the Lombardi trophy in the previous two years, with the Kansas City Chiefs main the charge. However, this could possibly be the yr the NFC reclaims the coveted prize, as groups like the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Philadelphia Eagles have all posted spectacular information.

But which groups made the playoffs, who’s dealing with who, and how does the seeding work relating to the place the video games are performed? Here, we’ve damaged down this yr’s road to the Super Bowl and defined how all of it works – together with bye weeks and seeding brackets.

The playoffs will function 14 groups, seven from the American Football Conference (AFC) and seven from the National Football Conference (NFC). Each convention is split into 4 divisions – north, east, west, and south – and the winners of every division will secure a spot in the playoffs.

Three ‘Wildcard’ groups with the best information exterior of the division champions additionally make the cut. These groups are then ranked in a bracket, numbered one to seven. The division winners occupy the prime 4 spots, whereas the Wildcard qualifiers take up positions 5 to seven, primarily based on their respective information.

The staff ranked first in every convention enjoys a bye week during the Wildcard spherical and does not play till the Divisional spherical at their home stadium, whereas the decrease-ranked groups journey for his or her video games. This weekend’s victors will advance to the Divisional spherical, the place 4 groups compete in two matches every – much like a semi-ultimate in European soccer – to find out who progresses additional.

Following this, the Conference Championships will see the prime two groups from the AFC and NFC go head-to-head. The triumphant groups from these video games can be hailed as champions of their respective conferences and head to New Orleans in February to compete in the Super Bowl.

1. Kansas City Chiefs (Bye into Divisional spherical)
2. Buffalo Bills vs 7. Denver Broncos
3. Baltimore Ravens vs 6. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Houston Texans vs 5. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chiefs have as soon as again clinched the AFC West title, marking their ninth consecutive division victory in week 14 of the common season. With an spectacular 15-2 document and an unbeaten home run, solely shedding to the Bills and Broncos out of their 17 matches, they’re amongst the favourites to go all the approach.

This means they are going to take pleasure in a week’s break from the discipline as the different six groups vie for a spot in the Divisional spherical. The AFC clashes scheduled for this weekend are:

Saturday, January 11

• Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans – 4:30pm ET
• Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens – 8pm ET

Sunday, January 12

• Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills – 1pm ET

The winners of the Texans versus Chargers match-up will face the Chiefs in the Divisional spherical, whereas it will likely be a toss-up between the Ravens and Steelers to return up in opposition to both the Bills or Broncos.

1. Detroit Lions (Bye into Divisional spherical)
2. Philadelphia Eagles vs 7. Green Bay Packers
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs 6. Washington Commanders
4. Los Angeles Rams vs 5. Minnesota Vikings

The Lions have made historical past by securing back-to-back victories in the NFC North league for the first time since their three-yr reign in the Western Division from 1952-1954. Under the management of head coach Dan Campbell, the champions have improved their document to fifteen-2 this yr, up from 12-5 in 2023.

However, the staff is keen to achieve the Super Bowl in 2025 after narrowly lacking out on the Conference Championship in opposition to the San Francisco 49ers final yr, struggling a 34-31 defeat.

So, with a bye week on the horizon, the Lions are strategising to improve their earlier efficiency and doubtlessly clinch their maiden Lombardi trophy at the first attempt. The NFC video games scheduled for this weekend are:

Sunday, January 12

• Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles – 4:30pm ET
• Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 8pm ET

Monday, January 13

• Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams – 8pm ET

The winner of the Rams vs Vikings conflict will face off in opposition to the Lions in the Divisional spherical, whereas the triumphant staff from the Buccaneers versus Commanders match will come up in opposition to both the Eagles or the Packers.

Divisional spherical dates:

• Saturday, January 18 – instances to be decided
• Sunday, January 19 – instances to be decided

Conference Championship date:

• Sunday, January 26 – instances to be confirmed

Super Bowl date and time:

• Sunday, February 9 – 6:30pm ET