2027 NFL Playoff Bracket: Latest Update of NFL Playoffs

The 2027 NFL Playoff Bracket shows the road to Super Bowl LXI, featuring 14 teams competing for the NFL championship. The postseason includes seven teams from the AFC and seven teams from the NFC, with four division winners and three wild-card teams from each conference.

The No. 1 seed in the AFC and NFC earns a first-round bye, while the remaining teams compete in the Wild Card Round. The No. 2 seed faces the No. 7 seed, the No. 3 seed plays the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 seed hosts the No. 5 seed in each conference.

After the Wild Card Round, the remaining teams advance to the Divisional Round, followed by the AFC and NFC Championship Games. The conference champions then meet in Super Bowl LXI to decide the 2027 NFL champion.

Follow the complete 2027 NFL playoff bracket, including game matchups, dates, times, TV channels, seeds, and the teams’ journey toward the Super Bowl.

How Does the NFL Playoff Work?

The NFL Playoffs feature 14 teams – seven from the American Football Conference (AFC) and seven from the National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference sends four division winners and three wild-card teams to the postseason.

The four division champions in each conference are seeded No. 1 through No. 4 based on their regular-season records. The three wild-card teams receive seeds No. 5 through No. 7. The team with the best overall record in each conference earns the No. 1 seed and receives a first-round bye.

NFL Wild Card Round

The Wild Card Round begins the NFL postseason. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 7 seed, the No. 3 seed hosts the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 seed hosts the No. 5 seed in each conference.

The No. 1 seed in the AFC and NFC does not play during the Wild Card Round and automatically advances to the Divisional Round.

NFL Divisional Round

In the Divisional Round, the No. 1 seed plays the lowest remaining seed from the Wild Card Round. The other two remaining teams in each conference also compete for a place in the Conference Championship Game.

The higher-seeded team hosts each playoff game, giving teams with better regular-season records the advantage of playing at home.

Conference Championship Games

The winners of the AFC Divisional Round meet in the AFC Championship Game, while the NFC winners compete in the NFC Championship Game. The higher-seeded team hosts each conference championship game.

The AFC and NFC champions then advance to the Super Bowl to compete for the NFL championship and the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

NFL Playoff Tiebreakers

When teams finish the regular season with the same record, the NFL uses a series of tiebreaker rules to determine playoff seeding. The first tiebreaker is usually head-to-head results, followed by division record, conference record, records against common opponents, strength of victory, and other league-approved criteria.

The NFL playoff system has used the current 14-team format since the 2020 season, when the league expanded the postseason from 12 teams to 14 teams. The format continues to provide more teams with a chance to compete for a Super Bowl championship.