A wild card is a playoff team that did not win its division. Each conference sends three, taken on record alone from everyone who finished second or lower.
How They Are Seeded
Wild cards always take seeds five, six and seven, behind all four division winners. That holds even when a wild card has a better record than a division champion, which happens most years.
The practical consequence: a wild card never hosts a first-round game. They play on the road at the two, three or four seed.
Wild Card Weekend
| Matchup | Host |
|---|---|
| 2 vs. 7 | Second seed |
| 3 vs. 6 | Third seed |
| 4 vs. 5 | Fourth seed |
The top seed has a bye and watches.
Tiebreakers Between Wild Card Contenders
When teams from different divisions are tied for a wild card spot, the order runs: head-to-head if they played, then record in common games with a minimum of four, then conference record, then strength of victory, then strength of schedule.
Conference record does a lot of work here, which is why a loss to a team in your own conference in October can matter more than a loss to one in the other conference.
Can a Wild Card Win It All?
Yes, though it requires four wins, all but one on the road. It has happened several times, most famously with the 2010 Green Bay Packers and the 2007 New York Giants, both of which entered as wild cards and won the Super Bowl.
Related
Seeding explained · How the playoffs work · Current standings
The Bottom Line
Three per conference, seeded five through seven, always on the road in the first round, separated by head-to-head and conference record when tied.