Wednesday, March 27

NFL playoff group, explained: how goodbye, seeding will work in 2022 with 17-game format



The NFL made a critical decision about its postseason format before the 2020 NFL regular season. Instead of having 12 teams involved in the playoffs, the NFL would include 14 during the 2021 NFL postseason.

The move was originally greeted with skepticism. After all, the NFL has arguably the best playoff format of any of the four major sports, so why change something that is working?

But soon after, NFL fans realized that the extended postseason meant there would be two additional NFL games. So they stopped complaining and the first 14-team postseason came and went without major problems.

The 14-team postseason has some key differences from the 12-team postseason of yesteryear. Here’s a refresher on how the 14-team version of the NFL playoffs works and why the NFL finally added more postseason games before last season began.

MORE: Full Schedule, 2022 NFL Postseason Breakdown

How many teams make the NFL playoffs?

A total of 14 teams will reach the NFL playoffs in 2022. This will mark the second season of the 14-team NFL playoffs. Previously, 12 teams – six from each conference – made the playoffs, but the NFL changed that before the 2020 NFL season.

Now, seven teams from the AFC and seven from the NFC will make it to the postseason. That only affects the playoff draw by adding a seventh seed in each conference and eliminating the bye week for the second seed.

Under the new NFL format, 43.75 percent of league teams will participate in postseason play. The division winners will continue to be ranked 1-4 based on the record and the bottom three spots will be filled by wild-card teams.

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NFL Playoff Group 2022

Below you can see how the 2022 NFL playoff group will perform. The No. 1 seed in each conference will start the tournament with a bye, while the No. 2 seed plays No. 7, No. 3 plays. Against No. 6 and No. 4 play against No. 5 on each side.

Here’s a look at the latest NFL playoff group for 2022, updated through Week 16:

AFC

1. Kansas City Chiefs (goodbye)

2. Tennessee Titans vs. 7. Baltimore Ravens
3. Cincinnati Bengals vs. 6. New England Patriots
4. Buffalo Bills vs. Indianapolis Colts

NFC

1. Green Bay Packers (goodbye)

2. Dallas Cowboys vs. 7. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Los Angeles Rams vs. 6. San Francisco 49ers
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. 5. Arizona Cardinals

How many teams get a goodbye in the first round?

Only two teams total, one in each conference, have a bye week under the new NFL playoff format. That’s due to the expansion of the wild-card round to add a No. 2 vs. No. 7 seeded showdown in both the AFC and NFC.

The elimination of the second bye was necessary, as making the No. 2 seeded game ensures that half of the 12 teams playing Wild Card weekend will be eliminated. That means eight will play in the divisional round and the NFL will continue to cut total teams in half from there until one is left standing after the Super Bowl.

Why did the NFL expand the playoff field?

It is all about the money. The additional playoff game will generate revenue the NFL would not otherwise have, and allows the league to have an additional primetime broadcast as they will play a postseason game of “Monday Night Football” for the first time in 2022.

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It also keeps more teams chasing the playoffs longer during the 18-week season. That makes each game that little bit more meaningful and gives middle team fan bases additional hope that they can qualify for the postseason.

Does seed number 2 have any benefit without a goodbye?

Seed number 2 is much less attractive without a goodbye. The team that lands the No. 2 seed is guaranteed two home games, as long as it can dispatch the No. 7 seed in the wild-card round. After that, they would travel to the home of the No. 1 seed for the AFC or NFC championship or they could host the championship game if the No. 1 seed is upset.

That said, it’s a lot different than the bye the team used to have, as the second seeded will have to play an extra game that the second seeded from before didn’t have to play. So teams are less likely to fight hard for it if they have a chance to rest their players at the end of the season, especially if they have their division title closed and they don’t have a chance to be the No. 1 seed.

Does the 17th NFL game have an impact on the playoffs?

Adding a 17th regular-season game won’t have much of an impact on the playoffs themselves. The biggest change is that the NFL postseason schedule will be pushed back a week due to additional games. As such, the Super Bowl will now take place on the second Sunday in February instead of the first.

Also, the playoff race will be a bit longer and busier than usual. Due to the extra play, teams that are hot at the end of the year will have a better chance of making the postseason as they will have extra time to make up ground in qualifying.

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2022 NFL playoff schedule

Wild card round

Saturday january 15

Match Start time television channel Live broadcast
AFC / NFC Wild Card Round 4:35 pm ET TBD fuboTV
AFC / NFC Wild Card Round 8:15 pm ET TBD fuboTV

Sunday January 16

Match Start time television channel Live broadcast
AFC / NFC Wild Card Round 1:05 pm ET TBD fuboTV
AFC / NFC Wild Card Round 4:40 pm ET TBD fuboTV
AFC / NFC Wild Card Round 8:15 pm ET TBD fuboTV

Monday January 17

Match Start time television channel Live broadcast
AFC / NFC Wild Card Round 8:15 pm ET ESPN ESPN application, fuboTV

Divisional round

Saturday January 22

Match Start time television channel Live broadcast
AFC Divisional Round TBA TBA fuboTV
NFC divisional round TBA TBA fuboTV

Sunday 23 January

Match Start time television channel Live broadcast
AFC Divisional Round TBA TBA fuboTV
NFC divisional round TBA TBA fuboTV

Conference Championships

Sunday January 30

Match Start time television channel Live broadcast
AFC Championship Game 3:05 pm ET CBS Paramount +, fuboTV
NFC Championship Game 6:40 pm ET Fox Fox Sports app, fuboTV

Super Bowl 56

Sunday February 13

Match Start time television channel Live broadcast
Super Bowl 56 6:30 pm ET NBC NBC Sports app, fuboTV




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