Every NFL team plays 17 regular-season games over an 18-week schedule. The extra week is a bye, and each team gets exactly one.
The Numbers
| Games per team | 17 |
|---|---|
| Weeks in the regular season | 18 |
| Byes per team | One |
| Total regular-season games | 272 |
| Preseason games | Three per team |
How the 17 Are Chosen
The schedule is formulaic rather than arbitrary. Each team plays:
- Six games against its own division, home and away against all three rivals
- Four games against another division in its conference, rotating each year
- Four games against a division in the other conference, also rotating
- Two games against teams in its own conference that finished in the same position in their divisions
- One game against a team from the other conference, also based on prior-year finish
That last game is what made the schedule 17 rather than 16 when the league expanded in 2021. Because 17 is an odd number, home and away games cannot split evenly, so conferences alternate which one gets nine home games each year.
The Postseason on Top
Fourteen teams reach the playoffs, seven from each conference. A team that wins the top seed gets a first-round bye and needs three wins for a championship. Everyone else needs four.
So the longest possible season is 17 regular-season games plus four postseason games, 21 in total, for a wild card team that reaches and wins the Super Bowl.
How It Changed
The league played 14 games a season until 1978, then 16 through 2020, then moved to 17 in 2021. There has been recurring discussion of an 18-game season, which would likely come paired with a shorter preseason.
Related
How the playoffs work · NFL standings
The Bottom Line
Seventeen games across 18 weeks, one bye, 272 games league-wide. Add up to four more for a Super Bowl run.