NFL Wild Card rules: The final team to receive the Wild Card playoff berth will be decided when Sunday night’s fourth quarter clock at Lambeau Field hits zero.
Fans are paying close attention to wild-card teams from the first round of the playoff bracket all the way through to the presentation of the Vince Lombardi trophy because of their history of postseason success.
Each of the NFL’s two conferences, the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference, has four divisions. The division winners are the clubs with the best win-loss records, and they receive byes into the playoffs. For the entire league, this means that eight of the sixteen possible postseason berths have already been claimed (4 in each conference).
What is the NFL Wild Card, rules, format, meaning and teams explained
The full schedule for Week 18. pic.twitter.com/WK3Vzam5RO
— NFL (@NFL) January 6, 2023
The NFL increased the number of wild card teams from two to three each conference in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, which allowed the league to increase revenue from television rights.
There are currently 14 teams that qualify for the playoffs. eight division champions and six at-large teams (three from each conference). Organizations with the best overall win-loss record that did not take first place in their division are awarded the Wild Card.
As long as they beat out the remainder of their division’s clubs that didn’t win their division, the three wild cards from each conference can be from the same division.
How many teams play the NFL Wild Card round?
There was a system in place where the top two teams from each conference got a bye into the Wild Card round before 2020. With the addition of a third wild card, however, only the number one seed is granted a first-round bye.
Here's my early projection for the NFL Super Wild Card weekend, subject to change, of course:
Saturday
5-Chargers at 4-Jaguars, 4:30
6-Giants at 3-Vikings, 8:15Sunday
6-Ravens at 3-Bengals, 1
5-Cowboys at 4-Bucs, 4:30
7-Packers at 2-49ers, 8:15Monday
7-Pats at 2-Bills, 8:15— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) January 4, 2023
The three at-large teams face off against the three division winners who did not have the greatest records. The highest seeded wild card plays the champion of the division with the worst record. A wild card with the second highest ranking will face a champion with the second lowest ranking. Each conference’s second-best record-holding team will play the poorest wild card.
When will the NFL Wild Card phase begin?
The dates for the Wild Card round are January 14-16.
Saturday, Jan. 14
Team to be designated vs, Team to be designated 4:30 a.m. ET
Team to be designated vs, Team to be designated 20:15 ET
Sunday, Jan. 15
Team to be designated vs, Team to be designated 1:00 p.m. ET
Team to be designated vs, Team to be designated 15:30 ET
Team to be designated vs, Team to be designated 20:15 ET
Monday, January 16
Team to be designated vs, Team to be designated 20:15 ET