We are now deep into the NFL regular season and the 2023-2024 Playoff Schedule is starting to come info full focus.
Fourteen franchises will make it into postseason play with the dream of figuring in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday February 11, 2024 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
That of course means another 18 teams will miss out on the fun and games – instead they will be home for January and looking ahead to the 2024 season.
NFL Playoff Schedule 2023 – Bracket & TV Channel
Dates for the 2023-2024 playoff slate are in the books, we’ll add matchups and TV details when known:
SUPER WILD CARD WEEKEND
Saturday January 13, 2024
- Cleveland Browns vs Houston Texans (4.30pm ET, NBC)
- Miami Dolphins vs Kansas City Chiefs (8pm ET, Peacock)
Sunday January 14, 2024
- Pittsburgh Steelers vs Buffalo Bills (1pm ET, CBS)
- Green Bay Packers vs Dallas Cowboys (4.30pm ET, FOX)
- Los Angeles Rams vs Detroit Lions (8pm ET, NBC)
Monday January 15, 2024
- Philadelphia Eagles vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8.15pm ET, ABC /ESPN)
DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS
Saturday January 20, 2024
- tbd vs tbd
- tbd vs tbd
Sunday January 21, 2024
- tbd vs tbd
- tbd vs tbd
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday January 28, 2023
- tbd vs tbd
- tbd vs tbd
SUPER BOWL LVIII (Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada)
Sunday February 11, 2024
- tbd vs tbd (6.30pm ET)
Playoff Scenarios: Which teams will make the postseason in 2023?
A total of 14 teams have made it into the tournament – 7 from the AFC and 7 from the NFC.
These are the teams who are in:
AFC Playoff Teams – Week 18
- 1. Baltimore Ravens (13-4) – clinched AFC North title and homefield advantage
- 2. Buffalo Bills (11-6) – clinched AFC East title
- 3. Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) – clinched AFC West title
- 4. Houston Texans (10-7) – clinched AFC South title
- 5. Cleveland Browns (11-6) – clinched playoff berth
- 6. Miami Dolphins (11-6) – clinched playoff berth
- 7. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) – clinched playoff berth
NFC Playoff Teams – Week 18
- 1. San Francisco 49ers (12-5) – clinched NFC West title and homefield advantage
- 2. Dallas Cowboys (12-5) – clinched NFC East title
- 3. Detroit Lions (11-5) – clinched NFC North title
- 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-8) – clinched NFC South title
- 5. Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) – clinched playoff berth
- 6. Los Angeles Rams (10-7) – clinched playoff berth
- 7. Green Bay Packers (9-8) – clinched playoff berth
How does the NFL Playoff Schedule work?
Those 14 teams play off for the right to make it to the Super Bowl. This right here is the beauty of pro football. Unlike other major sports (soccer’s Premier League for example), the regular-season record helps, but it is not the deciding factor in success. Once the tournament starts it is sudden death for every single team.
For starters the top seed in each conference receives a first-round bye – crucial in getting players healthy in time for the games that matter the most. Those top seeds also play at home throughout the postseason until the Super Bowl – assuming they advance.
The basic rule during the postseason is that whichever team is seeded highest plays at home.
The starting point in each conference for Wild Card Weekend is this:
- #2 seed plays #7 seed
- #3 seed plays #6 seed
- #4 seed plays #5 seed
For the Divisional Playoffs each conference looks like this:
- #1 ranked remaining team vs #4 ranked remaining team
- #2 ranked remaining team vs #3 ranked remaining team
For the Conference Championships it is this:
- #1 ranked remaining team plays home vs #2 ranked remaining team
Will there be an 8-team NFL playoff format in 2023?
Right now 7 teams go in from each conference, but some media outlets proposed an 8-team concept in the aftermath of the Bills vs Bengals postponement in 2022 to mitigate the potential issues which came up.