The race to Super Bowl 59 is approaching. Twelve of the 14 teams to make the postseason will begin their playoff journeys in mere weeks.
The wild-card round of the 2024-25 NFL playoffs are set to kick off just one week after the regular season concludes in Week 18. Every team besides the No. 1 seed in each conference will play during the first weekend of postseason action for a chance to move on to the divisional round.
Entering the Saturday of Week 17, only the Kansas City Chiefs have clinched the top seed and a first-round bye so far, leaving the schedule for the NFC’s top contenders still up in the air.
Here’s what to know about the 2024-25 NFL playoffs, including their start date and format:
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When do the NFL playoffs start?
The first round of the NFL playoffs is its wild-card round, which will take place from Jan. 11-13.
Seeds Nos. 2 through 7 in both conferences will face off in one of the six total matchups over the three-day opening round. This year’s playoffs will kick off with two games on Saturday, Jan. 11, continue with three more on Sunday, Jan. 12 and conclude with one game on Monday, Jan. 13.
The second round of the playoffs, the divisional round, will take place one week later over two days – Saturday, Jan. 18 and Sunday, Jan. 19 – and feature all eight remaining playoff teams. Conference championships take place the following Sunday, and the winners of each will get a week off before Super Bowl 59 on Feb. 9.
NFL postseason format, explained
The NFL’s playoff bracket is dynamic, meaning teams are not locked into a bracket with predetermined future matchups once their seeding is decided.
In the first round, the No. 1 seed from each conference receives a bye into the division round as the remaining teams – seeds Nos. 2-7 – play for a chance to move on.
Following the opening wild-card round, each No. 1 seed is matched against the lowest remaining conference seed in the divisional round. Meanwhile, the second-highest remaining seed gets a matchup with the second-lowest.
This format ultimately guarantees that the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds won’t play the No. 1 seed until the conference championship at the earliest – either they’re eliminated in the wild-card round, or they play each other or a lower-seeded team in the divisional round, pending upsets.
The two divisional round clashes determine who plays in their respective conference championships, both of which take place on the same day. This year, that’s Sunday, Jan. 26.
This year’s two conference championship winners will then get a week off before they head to New Orleans to play in Super Bowl 59 on Sunday, Feb. 9.
