NFL playoff tiebreakers: How do they work?
How do NFL playoff tiebreakers work? Glad you asked.
With four weeks remaining in the National Football League’s regular season, the standings are completely out of control. Of the 32 teams in the league, 31 still have a mathematical chance of making it into the postseason. The NFL has long talked about having great parity across the landscape, and it has achieved that in spades.
However, there is one thing outside of reception rules that drives fans insane; how do the NFL playoff tiebreakers work? Each year, it seems people have to write down an equations nine pages long to figure it out. Well, we are cutting all of that nonsense out. Here’s how it all works, broken down into categories.
WITHIN THE DIVISION
For two teams:
- Head-to-head record
- Division record
- Record vs. common opponents
- Conference record
- Strength of victory
- Strength of schedule
For three or more teams:
- Head-to-head records
- Divisional record
- Record vs. common opponents
- Conference record
- Strength of victory
- Strength of schedule
It is important to note that in this scenario, once one team is eliminated, the remaining teams go back to the first tiebreaker.
WILD CARD TEAMS
For two teams:
- Head-to-head record
- Conference record
- Record vs. common opponents (minimum of four games)
- Strength of victory
- Strength of schedule
For three or more teams:
- Use divisional tiebreakers until only the highest-ranked wild card team remains in each division
- Head-to-head sweep
- Conference record
- Record vs. common opponents (minimum of four)
- Strength of victory
- Strength of schedule
It is important to note that in this scenario, once one team is eliminated, the remaining teams go back to the first tiebreaker.