The 2022 regular season is now history and already we have the first weekend of the NFL Playoff Schedule set in stone with kickoff times and TV channels.
Fourteen franchises have made it into postseason play with hopes of figuring in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday February 12, 2023.
That of course means another 18 teams have missed out on the postseason fun and games, instead they are licking their wounds as they build towards the 2023 season.
NFL Playoff Schedule 2022 & TV Channel
The 2022 NFL playoff schedule and bracket will play out as follows, starting with Wildcard games. Next up we have the Divisional Playoffs on Saturday January 21 and Sunday January 22:
SUPER WILD CARD WEEKEND
Saturday January 14, 2023
- Seattle Seahawks 23-41 San Francisco 49ers (4.30pm ET – FOX)
- Los Angeles Chargers 30-31 Jacksonville Jaguars (8.15pm ET – NBC, Peacock)
Sunday January 15, 2023
- Miami Dolphins 31-34 Buffalo Bills (1pm ET – CBS, Paramount+)
- New York Giants 31-24 Minnesota Vikings (4.50pm ET – FOX)*
- Baltimore Ravens 17-24 Cincinnati Bengals (8.15pm ET – NBC, Peacock, Telemundo)
* Kickoff time amended due to length of Dolphins vs Bills game
Monday January 16, 2023
- Dallas Cowboys 31-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8.15pm ET – ESPN/ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes)
DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS
Saturday January 21, 2023
- Jacksonville Jaguars 20-27 Kansas City Chiefs (4.30pm ET – NBC)
- New York Giants 7-38 Philadelphia Eagles (8.15pm ET – FOX)
Sunday January 22, 2023
- Cincinnati Bengals 27-10 Buffalo Bills (3pm ET – CBS)
- Dallas Cowboys 12-19 San Francisco 49ers (6.30pm ET – FOX)
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday January 29, 2023
- NFC Championship Game: San Francisco 7-31 Philadelphia (3pm ET, FOX)
- AFC Championship Game: Cincinnati 20-23 Kansas City (6.30pm ET, CBS)
SUPER BOWL LVI
Sunday February 12, 2023
- Philadelphia Eagles vs Kansas City Chiefs (6.30pm ET, FOX)
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Playoff Scenarios: Which teams are in the postseason in 2022?
A total of 14 teams made it into the tournament – 7 from the AFC and 7 from the NFC.
With the regular season now over, the playoff field and bracket is set and these are the teams progressing:
AFC Playoff Teams
- 1. Kansas City Chiefs (14-3) – clinched playoff berth, AFC West title and top seed
- 2. Buffalo Bills (13-3) – clinched playoff berth AND AFC East title
- 3. Cincinnati Bengals (12-4) – clinched playoff berth and AFC North title
- 4. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-8) – clinched playoff berth and AFC South title
- 5. Los Angeles Chargers (10-7) – clinched playoff berth
- 6. Baltimore Ravens (10-7) – clinched playoff berth
- 7. Miami Dolphins (9-8) – clinched playoff berth
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NFC Playoff Teams
- 1. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) – clinched playoff berth, NFC East title and top seed
- 2. San Francisco 49ers (13-4) – clinched playoff berth AND NFC West title
- 3. Minnesota Vikings (13-4) – clinched playoff berth AND NFC North title
- 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) – clinched playoff berth AND NFC South title
- 5. Dallas Cowboys (12-5) – clinched playoff berth
- 6. New York Giants (9-7-1) – clinched playoff berth
- 7. Seattle Seahawks (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 2022?
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 to mitigate the potential issues which came up.
An eight-team format in each conference would have handed the New York Jets a potential reprieve in the AFC and the Washington Commanders and New Orleans Saints in the NFC.
As of now though it does not appear this move is likely or even on the table, with the NFL proceeding with that potential for an AFC title game at a neutral site.