How many teams will make NFL Playoffs? How many Wild Card teams will be in the 2022 playoffs?
We take a look at the 2022 playoff picture in the NFL, how it works, what seedings face off and what teams would play if the season ended today
In 2020, the NFL playoffs saw big changes to the post season format as the league expanded its playoff bracket from a 12-team to a 14-team tournament. A third wild card team was also added for each conference and only the division winners with the best record were awarded a first round bye.
The 2022 season will follow the same road and there will be a total of 14 teams in the NFL playoffs for the 2022 season, with seven teams from each conference. Each of the two conferences will send three wild-card teams along with four division champions to its postseason.
The Wild Card Round
In the first round of the playoffs, each conference’s division champion with the best regular-season record is awarded a bye and granted an automatic berth in the second, or Divisional, round. The four division champions are seeded by their records and in-season play from one to four, while the three wild card teams are seeded five to seven. While the team seeded first will have the week off, the number seven team will play the number two team, number six plays number three, and number five plays number four.
The Divisional Round
Advancing through to the second round, the lowest remaining seeded team plays the now rested number one, while the other two teams face-off against each other. The higher seeded teams have home field advantage in both rounds as well as the third round, the Conference Championship.
The Super Bowl
Each Conference will follow the same format and the two Conference Champions will face off in the Super Bowl. At this point, there is no seeding needed. The Super Bowl is always held at a neutral site, traditionally in the nation’s south or sun belt, and the nominal home team is on a rotational basis between the conferences. In 2023, Super Bowl 57 will be held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home to the Arizona Cardinals.
If the season ended today, the AFC Wild Card weekend would see the Buffalo Bills seeded first with a first-round bye. The Miami Dolphins would be seeded seventh and have to travel to face the second seed Kansas City Chiefs. The Los Angeles Chargers would get the sixth seed and have to play the third seed Cincinnati Bengals and the fifth seed Baltimore Ravens would have to travel to Tennessee to face fourth seed Titans.
In the NFC, the picture as of the end of Week 15 would see the Philadelphia Eagles sitting on top with a first round bye. Below them, the seventh seed Washington Commanders would travel to take on the second seed Minnesota Vikings. The third seed San Francisco 49ers would host the sixth seed New York Giants and the fifth seed Dallas Cowboys would travel to Tampa Bay to take on Tom Brady and the fourth seed Buccaneers.