On February 7th, 2021 increases Super Bowl 55. The two best teams in the National Football League meet in the NFL Finals in Tampa, Florida.
But until then, there is a long way to go for the teams. After the regular season, the NFL playoffs follow, in which only the best 14 teams take part. We explain the mode to you, draw the “Road to Super Bowl LV” and show you the pairings for the Wild Card Round.
>> Super Bowl 2021: date, location, halftime show – all information about the NFL final <
Who will get into the playoffs?
As mentioned at the beginning, there are a total of 14 places in the NFL playoffs. But the best teams do not automatically qualify for a place in the playoffs. To understand this, one has to know that the NFL is divided into two conferences – the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Both conferences are divided into four divisions, each with four teams at the start.
In total, 32 teams from eight divisions are fighting for a place in the playoffs and the associated hope of winning the Super Bowl in the regular season. Each team plays 16 games in the regular season.
>> NFL season 2020/21: schedule, teams, mode and broadcast – all information <
Until the ultimate showdown takes place in the Super Bowl, both conferences hold their own playoffs in order to determine their best team and the participants in the NFL final. Since this season, seven (previously six) teams from both conferences have qualified for the playoffs. Based on their balance in the regular season, they are placed in a seeding list.
The four winners of each division are seeded in their conference playoffs. The division winners with the best record of victory and defeat are placed at # 1 in the respective conference (AFC and NFC), the division winners with the worst record at # 4. Then there are the three teams with the best record that did not win their division. They are placed at # 5, # 6 and # 7 based on their balance sheet.
>> NFL: Results, standings and schedule of the Regular Season 2020/21 <
If there is a tie between two or more teams, various criteria will be used to decide who will make it to the playoffs. These range from a direct comparison to the balance sheet in one’s own division to the “Strength of Schedule” (strength of the opponents in the regular season) or the difference between all touchdowns scored and received.
Who will play in the 2021 NFL playoffs?
The AFC and NFC seeding lists change after almost every match day, and there is a lot of movement at the beginning of a season. The so-called playoff picture – the schedule of the playoffs – results from these seed lists.
This is what the NFL’s seeding lists for the playoffs look like after week 17 out:
- NFC: #1 Green Bay Packers (13-3), #2 New Orleans Saints (12-4), #3 Seattle Seahawks (12-4), #4 Washington Football Team (7-9), #5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5), #6 Los Angeles Rams (10-6), #7 Chicago Bears (8-8)
- AFC: #1 Kansas City Chiefs (14-2), #2 Buffalo Bills (13-3), #3 Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4), #4 Tennessee Titans (11-5), #5 Baltimore Ravens (11-5),#6 Cleveland Browns (11-5), #7 Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
And the following playoff picture emerges from these seed lists:
Wild Card Round – NFC:
New Orleans Saints – Chicago Bears (Sunday, January 10th, 10:40 pm)
Seattle Seahawks – Los Angeles Rams (Saturday, January 9th, 10:40 pm)
Washington Football Team – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday, January 10, 2:15 p.m.)
Wild Card Round – AFC:
Buffalo Bills – Indianapolis Colts (Saturday, January 9, 7:05 p.m.)
Pittsburgh Steelers v Cleveland Browns (Monday, January 11, 2:15 p.m.)
Tennessee Titans – Baltimore Ravens (Sunday, January 10, 7:05 p.m.)
The Green Bay Packers (NFC) and the Kansas City Chiefs As the best teams in their conference (AFC), they have a so-called “Bye Week” during the Wild Card Round. You are already qualified for the Divisional Round and will meet the worst team to win the Wildcard Round according to the seeding list – in your own stadium.
Schedule: When do the NFL playoffs start?
The regular season of the NFL ends after the 17th match day on January 3, 2021. The playoffs with the wild card round begin the following weekend. This is the schedule for the NFL playoffs:
- Wild Card Round: 9./10. Januar 2021
- Divisional Round: 16./17. Januar 2021
- Conference Championships: 24. Januar 2021
- Super Bowl: February 7, 2021
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Wild Card Round
The Wild Card Round corresponds to the round of 16. The best team at the conferences has a “Bye Week” in this round, meaning no play. Otherwise the pairings look like this: The team seeded at # 2 plays against # 7, team # 3 against team # 6 and team # 4 against team # 5. The team with the better record has home rights.
Divisional Round
In the Divisional Round, which corresponds to the quarter-finals, the two top teams from the conferences intervene for the first time. You play at home against the worst team according to the seeding list to win the Wild Card Round. The other game is played by the two remaining teams in the Conference – here, too, the team with the better balance has home rights.
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Conference Championship
The winning teams of the Divisional Round determine the best team of their respective conference in the Championship Games. Within the Conferences, the Conference Championship represents the final, in relation to the entire NFL it is, so to speak, the semi-finals. The team with the better record in the regular season has home rights.
Super Bowl
After a week’s break in which the best AFC players play against a selection of the NFC in the Pro Bowl, the grand finale will take place: the Super Bowl. In 2021, Super Bowl LV will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida – the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. February 7, 2021 is marked in bold and red on the calendar on every NFL player’s calendar.
>> From Super Bowl I to LV: All Super Bowls in NFL History <
