When Do The NFL Playoffs Start?

The NFL playoffs for the 2023-24 season start with the so-called ‘Super Wild Card Weekend.’

The opening games are on Saturday, Jan. 13, with the first two of the six Wild Card Round games. The next three wild-card games will be on Sunday, Jan. 14, and the final one will be on Monday, Jan. 15.

That first weekend of the playoffs comes a week after the final Sunday of the regular season on Jan. 7, when some teams will be trying to clinch a playoff spot, clinch a division title or jockey for the highest playoff seed possible.

How Many Teams Make the NFL Playoffs?

Currently in the NFL, 14 of the 32 teams qualify for the playoffs. That group includes the winners of the eight four-team divisions (NFC West, NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, AFC West, AFC East, AFC North, AFC South) and three Wild Card teams in the NFC and three in the AFC.

NFL Playoffs Format

After the regular season ends, the seven playoff teams from the NFC and the seven from the AFC are seeded from 1-7 in each of the conferences. The division winners are seeded 1-4, depending on records and various tiebreakers, and the three wild cards from each conference are seeded 5-7.

In the Wild Card Round, which is the first weekend of the playoffs, every team except for the No. 1 seeds will play, according to this scheduling based on seeding in each conference:

7th seed at 2nd seed
6th seed at 3rd seed
5th seed at 4th seed

In the Divisional Round, during the following weekend, the remaining eight teams play, according to this scheduling based on seeding in each conference:

Lowest seed at 1st seed
Second-lowest seed at third-lowest seed

In the Conference Championships on the following Sunday, the remaining two teams in each conference will play, with the winner of the NFC Championship Game and the AFC Championship Game going to the Super Bowl.

NFL Playoff Schedule

Wild Card Round

Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024

AFC/NFC Wild-Card Game (TBA at TBA), 4:30pm ET on NBC/Peacock
AFC/NFC Wild-Card Game (TBA at TBA), 8 p.m. ET on Peacock

Sunday, Jan 14, 2024

AFC/NFC Wild-Card Game (TBA at TBA), 4:30pm ET on CBS
AFC/NFC Wild-Card Game (TBA at TBA), 8:15pm ET on NBC
AFC/NFC Wild-Card Game (TBA at TBA), 1:00pm ET on CBS or FOX

Monday, Jan 15, 2024

AFC/NFC Wild-Card Game (TBA at TBA), 8:15pm ET on ESPN/ABC

Divisional Round

Saturday, Jan 20, 2024

TBA at TBA (AFC), Time and TV TBA
TBA at TBA (NFC), Time and TV TBA

Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024

TBA at TBA (AFC), Time and TV TBA
TBA at TBA (NFC), Time and TV TBA

Conference Championships

Sunday, Jan 28, 2024

AFC Championship Game, 3 p.m. ET CBS
NFC Championship Game, 6:30pm ET FOX

Super Bowl 58

Super Bowl LVIII, or Super Bowl 58 if you can’t read Roman numerals, will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas – home of the Las Vegas Raiders – at 6:30pm ET on CBS on Feb. 11, 2024, sometimes referred to as “Super Sunday.”

There always is a two-week period between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl to help build up the hype and also enable media from all over the world travel to the Super Bowl site and conduct interviews and meet the players.