A total of 14 teams qualify for the 2025 NFL playoffs – seven from the AFC and seven from the NFC.
The 2025 NFL playoffs start on January 11 with the Wildcard Round.
The Divisional Round will take place the following week, followed by the Conference Championships. This will decide who will play in Super Bowl LIX on February 9, 2025.
Get all the information about the 2025 NFL playoffs here: schedule, dates, teams, playoff picture, and check out the favorites.
NFL Playoffs 2025 – Schedule NFL Finals
The NFL Playoffs 2025 Standings in the Divisions
Prognosis & Opportunity Check: Who will make the NFL Playoffs in 2025?
Who will make the NFL Playoffs in 2025? This is the second big topic of every NFL season, alongside the upcoming Super Bowl winner. This is also the case before this one.
Since the National Football League is divided into two conferences, the AFC and NFC, and a total of 14 teams play in the playoffs, seven teams come from each conference.
The NFL playoffs 2025 contenders are primarily those teams that are also among the Super Bowl favorites. Makes sense, because without a playoff appearance, there is no Super Bowl.
The NFL playoffs favorites this season: Who will survive the regular season and dream of a Super Bowl triumph in 2025?
Who are the AFC’s 2025 NFL playoffs contenders?
As the biggest favorite from the AFC for the NFL playoffs in 2025, the Kansas City Chiefs are entering the new season. The team around quarterback superstar Patrick Mahomes is the reigning champion. In addition, the team has no serious departures to report.
Furthermore, the Baltimore Ravens (last season’s semi-finalists) and the Buffalo Bills (last season’s divisional round outcasts) are also expected in the AFC in the 2025 NFL playoff schedule.
Can the Houston Texans also pencil the NFL playoff dates into their schedule in 2025? Last season, the Texans were the fourth-best team (even winning their division) after the regular season to make it into the postseason and even advanced one round.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have emerged as an insider tip for the 2025 NFL playoffs so far this season.
But: the Steelers have to face the Ravens in the AFC East Division on the one hand and the Cincinnati Bengals on the other, who also want to reach the post-season with playmaker Joe Burrow.
Which of this trio will finish first and thus get a fixed place on the NFL Playoffs 2025 calendar?
Based on their record, the LA Chargers could also be a contender for a place in the NFL Playoffs schedule 2025. They have no chance against the Chiefs in first place in the AFC West Division…
Who are the NFL Playoffs 2025 candidates of the NFC?
The San Francisco 49ers are considered the top NFC favorite to make the NFL playoffs in 2025. The team around quarterback Brock Purdy is almost as strong as it was last season.
The second big contender for a spot on the 2025 NFL playoff picture are the Detroit Lions.
The team of Germany’s star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown made it to the Conference Finals last season, where the Niners came out on top in the end. Anything less than another playoff appearance for the Lions would be a surprise.
Will the Philadelphia Eagles, after finishing 5th in the regular season, fly again in the post-season?
The chances of this are not bad, after all, quarterback Jalen Hurts’ team was in the Super Bowl in 2023 and also made it into the playoffs last season – even if they were knocked out in the first round.
In the NFC West Division, however, the team from Philly has very strong competition for the group victory that is so important for qualifying for the playoffs, in the form of the Washington Commanders.
But it’s also very close in the NFC North. In addition to the Lions, the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings are two other playoff contenders. If you add the Chicago Bears to the list of possible NFL playoff teams in 2025, it gets really brutal here.
In the NFC South, on the other hand, the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are competing for first place and a guaranteed spot in the 2025 NFL playoffs.
How many teams will make the 2025 NFL playoffs?
A total of 32 teams play in the NFL. The National Football League is divided into two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).
The AFC and NFC are each divided into four divisions of four teams each. In the regular season, each team plays 17 games.
After the last day of play, seven teams each from the NFC and AFC qualify for the playoffs.
The four division winners in each conference are guaranteed a place, while the other three spots are awarded to the teams with the best win-loss records.
The division winner with the best record is seeded 7.
The wild cards go to the two best teams in each conference that could not win their division.
This means that it is possible that not all of the seven most successful teams in a conference will automatically make it into the playoffs.
Playoffs 2024 Schedule & Dates – from Wildcard Round to Super Bowl
After the regular season schedule, the playoffs start immediately. Without a break.
The 2025 NFL playoffs begin on January 11 and end on February 9 with Super Bowl LIX.
The playoffs consist of four rounds – the Wild Card Round, the Divisional Playoffs, the Championship Games and the Super Bowl.
In the playoffs, the winner of each conference is then determined according to the knockout principle.
The two conference champions, determined in the championship games (“semifinals”), play in the NFL final, the Super Bowl.
Wildcard Round – who plays against whom?
The first round of the playoffs is also called “Wild Card Games” in the jargon.
The best team in the AFC and NFC after the regular season – from now on the “first seed” – have a bye in the first round of the NFL playoffs and only enter in the second round.
The other six teams from the respective division are already playing in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
The mode looks like this: the second-best team in each conference plays against the seventh-best, the third-best against the sixth-best, and the number 4 from the regular season against the number 5.
The team with the better record from the regular season, i.e. the one with the lower seeding, has home field advantage. For example, the 7.
The winners of the Wildcard Round are through to the Divisional Round.
Divisional Round: Now the top teams enter the fray
The Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs is the quarter-final. Only eight teams remain.
This is where the two teams that finished top in their conference during the regular season also enter the fray. The two first seeds (seeded as number 1 in the playoff) now have home advantage.
2 plays against the team with the second-highest seed in this playoff round.
The winners of the Divisional Round are through to the Championship Games.
Championship Games: Semi-finals of the NFL playoffs
The semi-finals of the NFL playoffs are the Championship Games or Conference Finals. This is where the teams for the Super Bowl are determined!
How do you qualify for the Super Bowl?
The two winners of the Divisional Round face each other in the AFC and NFC Conference Championship Games. The winners of these games are not only winners of their respective conferences, but also automatically qualify for the Super Bowl.
The winner of the AFC plays against the winner of the NFC for the Super Bowl. The winners of the two Conference Finals are also the champions of their conference.
In the “semi-finals”, the team with the lower seed again has home advantage. The team that was lower-ranked in the regular season has to play against a better team from the regular season.
For example, the 5 seed.
The history of the NFL playoffs
The NFL playoffs have been around since 1967.
At that time, the National Football League consisted of only 16 teams – half as many as today – divided into four divisions. But just like today, the league was divided into two major conferences – the AFC and NFC (American Football Conference and National Football Conference).
The playoff concept, however, has been retained over the years and only slightly adapted.
