The NFL season continues to move along, and the playoffs are just a few short weeks away. With that in mind, what does the current NFL playoff bracket look like as Week 16 ends? Who is in, who is out, and who remains right on the edge?
Current NFL Playoff Bracket Week 16
The NFL playoff bracket will be updated after each slate of games. The below image represents the current bracket as of Week 16.
AFC Playoff Seeds and Standings
1. Baltimore Ravens (12-3)
2. Miami Dolphins (11-4)
3. Kansas City Chiefs (9-6)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7)
5. Cleveland Browns (10-5)
6. Buffalo Bills (9-6)
7. Indianapolis Colts (8-7)
AFC Teams Still in the Hunt
8. Houston Texans (8-7)
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7)
10. Cincinnati Bengals (8-7)
11. Las Vegas Raiders (7-8)
12. Denver Broncos (7-8)
NFC Playoff Seeds and Standings
1. San Francisco 49ers (11-4)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (11-4)
3. Detroit Lions (11-4)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7)
5. Dallas Cowboys (10-5)
6. Los Angeles Rams (8-7)
7. Seattle Seahawks (8-7)
NFC Teams Still in the Hunt
8. Minnesota Vikings (7-8)
9. Atlanta Falcons (7-8)
10. Green Bay Packers (7-8)
11. New Orleans Saints (7-8)
12. Chicago Bears (6-9)
NFL Playoff Schedule
Although we do not know which teams will actually fill the following slots, we do know what the television schedule will be for the 2023-2024 NFL playoffs. You can find the playoff schedule below.
Wild Card Round
All times Eastern
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
- AFC/NFC Wild Card matchup – 4:30 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
- AFC/NFC Wild Card matchup – 8:15 p.m. (Peacock)
Sunday, Jan., 14, 2024
- AFC/NFC Wild Card matchup – 1 p.m. (CBS or FOX)
- AFC/NFC Wild Card matchup – 4:30 p.m. (CBS or FOX)
- AFC/NFC Wild Card matchup – 8:15 p.m. (NBC)
Monday, Jan. 15, 2024
- AFC/NFC Wild Card matchup – 8:15 p.m. (ESPN/ABC)
Divisional Round
Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024
- AFC Divisional matchup
- NFC Divisional matchup
Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024
- AFC Divisional matchup
- NFC Divisional matchup
Conference Championship Round
Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024
- AFC Championship Game – 3 p.m. (CBS)
- NFC Championship Game – 6:30 p.m. (FOX)
Super Bowl LVIII
Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024
- AFC champion vs. NFC champion – 6:30 p.m. (CBS)
How Many Teams Make the NFL Playoffs?
A total of 14 teams make the NFL playoffs. The 14 teams include seven from the American Football Conference (AFC) and seven from the National Football Conference (NFC).
Each of the four division champions from the two conferences automatically earns a bid, followed by three Wild Card teams from each conference.
The three Wild Card spots in each conference are earned by the top three teams by record who did not win their respective divisions. To break ties between teams with equal records that are vying for a Wild Card spot, the NFL employs a set of tiebreaking procedures.
There are separate 12-step processes for breaking ties between two teams and ties between three or more teams. Only if the first 11 steps are exhausted does the NFL resort to a coin toss to decide which team makes the playoffs. Generally, ties are broken within the first five steps.
NFL Playoff Format and Bracket
Teams are seeded No. 1 through 7 in each conference, with the division winners receiving seeds Nos. 1 through 4, with the three Wild Card teams receiving seeds Nos. 5 through 7.
The division winners are seeded according to record, with the best record receiving the top seed, and the same is true of Wild Card teams.
MORE: PFN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
The league uses the same playoff tiebreaking procedures to break ties for seeds.
The NFL’s playoff bracket is divided between the AFC and NFC. There are four rounds: Wild Card Weekend, the Divisional Round, Conference Championship Weekend, and the Super Bowl.
During Wild Card Weekend, the No. 2 seed faces the No. 7 seed, the No. 3 seed faces the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 seed faces the No. 5 seed in each conference. In each subsequent round, the highest remaining seed faces the lowest remaining seed, and so on.
The No. 1 seed receives a first-round bye. In this format, the No. 7 seed, if they win on Wild Card Weekend, automatically goes to the top seed on the road. The same is said if the No. 6 seed wins and the No. 7 seed is eliminated.
In the Super Bowl, the winning teams from each conference face off to battle for the Lombardi Trophy.
Want to predict the rest of the 2023 season with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? Looking for the most up-to-date NFL standings? What about a breakdown of team depth charts or the NFL schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with that and more!
