Fourteen teams make the NFL playoffs: seven from the AFC and seven from the NFC.
The Breakdown
| Per conference | How they qualify |
|---|---|
| Four | Division winners, one from each of the four divisions |
| Three | Wild cards, the next three best records regardless of division |
| Seven total | Seeded one through seven |
Fourteen of 32 teams, or roughly 44 percent, reach the postseason. That is a smaller share than the NBA or NHL, where more than half the league qualifies, and larger than Major League Baseball’s 12 of 30.
How It Got to 14
The field has grown repeatedly. It was 12 teams from 1990 through 2019, six per conference with two byes each. The league expanded to 14 in 2020, adding a third wild card in each conference and cutting the byes from two to one.
That change had a real effect: it made the top seed considerably more valuable, since only one team per conference now gets the week off.
Clinching Scenarios
A team clinches a berth when it becomes mathematically impossible for enough other teams to pass it. In practice, 10 wins usually secures a spot and 11 almost always does, though weak conferences have sent nine-win teams to the playoffs and strong ones have left 10-win teams home.
Related
How the playoffs work · The wild card explained · Current standings
The Bottom Line
Fourteen teams, seven per conference, four division winners and three wild cards each. The field went from 12 to 14 in 2020.