The NFL has been as unpredictable as ever during the 2022 season, and it only figures to become more chaotic as the season goes along.
The race for the 2023 NFL playoffs is heating up, and plenty of teams are jockeying for position in the divisional and wild-card standings. That includes a tightly packed NFC East battle — from which all four teams could emerge as playoff participants — and an NFC South fight that will almost certainly send a team with a losing record into the postseason.
This high drama is all a result of the NFL’s 14-game playoff format, which was instituted for the 2021 postseason. Now entering its third year, the new format has been successful in creating more late-season competition in the NFL’s wild-card battles.
Soon, though, this drama will be sorted out. Teams will emerge as the 14 postseason participants and each of the season’s final few weeks will whittle out the teams that will be looking ahead to the offseason instead of a potential trip to Glendale.
But when exactly do the NFL playoffs begin? Below is everything you need to know about the NFL playoffs for 2023, including dates and a TV schedule for each round, how all the tiebreakers work and how the playoff picture currently shakes out.
MORE: Updated NFL playoff picture entering Week 16
When do the NFL playoffs start in 2023?
- Wild-card round: Jan. 14-16
- Divisional round: Jan. 21-22
- Conference championships: Jan. 29
- Super Bowl 56: Feb. 12
For the third consecutive year, 14 teams will make it into the NFL postseason. The league will feature seven teams from each conference in the 2023 playoffs, and the No. 1 seed in each conference will be the only team to receive a bye.
The NFL postseason has also been shifted back by a week for the second consecutive season. This is because the league implemented a 17-game schedule in 2021 and continued that practice in 2022. As a result, the Super Bowl will be held on the second Sunday in February instead of the first.
NFL playoff bracket
Here’s a look at the complete NFL playoff bracket for 2023:
AFC
1. Buffalo Bills (BYE)
2. Kansas City Chiefs vs. 7. Miami Dolphins
3. Cincinnati Bengals vs. 6. Los Angeles Chargers
4. Tennessee Titans vs. 5. Baltimore Ravens
NFC
1. Philadelphia Eagles (BYE)
2. Minnesota Vikings vs. 7. Washington Commanders
3. San Francisco 49ers vs. 6. New York Giants
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. 5. Dallas Cowboys
NFL POWER RANKINGS: Lions, Giants, Chargers on the rise after Week 15
NFL playoff schedule 2023
Wild-card round
Saturday, Jan. 14
| Matchup | Start time | TV channel | Live stream |
| Wild-card round | 4:30 p.m. ET | TBD | fuboTV |
| Wild-card round | 8:15 p.m. ET | TBD | fuboTV |
Sunday, Jan. 15
| Matchup | Start time | TV channel | Live stream |
| Wild-card round | 1 p.m. ET | TBD | fuboTV |
| Wild-card round | 4:30 p.m. ET | CBS | fuboTV |
| Wild-card round | 8:15 p.m. ET | NBC | Peacock, fuboTV |
Monday, Jan. 16
| Matchup | Start time | TV channel | Live stream |
| Wild-card round | 8:15 p.m. ET | ESPN, ABC | ESPN+, fuboTV |
Divisional round
Saturday, Jan. 21
| Matchup | Start time | TV channel | Live stream |
| Divisional round | TBD | TBD | fuboTV |
| Divisional round | TBD | TBD | fuboTV |
Sunday, Jan. 22
| Matchup | Start time | TV channel | Live stream |
| Divisional round | TBD | TBD | fuboTV |
| Divisional round | TBD | TBD | fuboTV |
Conference championships
Sunday, Jan. 29
| Matchup | Start time | TV channel | Live stream |
| AFC championship | 3:05 p.m. ET | CBS | Paramount+, fuboTV |
| NFC championship | 6:40 p.m. ET | Fox | fuboTV |
Super Bowl 57
Sunday, Feb. 12
| Matchup | Start time | TV channel | Live stream |
| Super Bowl 57 | 6:30 p.m. ET | Fox | Fox Sports app, fuboTV |
MORE: Watch NFL playoff games live on fuboTV (free trial)
How do the NFL playoffs work?
The NFL postseason will begin in 2023, though the participants in it will be based on the results of the 2022 NFL season. The NFL will allow seven teams in each conference — 14 total — to qualify for the postseason. That includes four division winners and three wild cards.
Because there are seven teams, only one team in each conference will receive a bye week. That will be awarded to the No. 1 seed, which will also get home-field advantage for however long it stays alive in the postseason race.
The seeding for the 2023 NFL playoffs is determined in a simple way. In each conference, the division winner with the best record will receive the No. 1 seed. The Nos. 2 through 4 seeds comprise the rest of the division winners, ranked from the best record to the worst. The team with the best record that failed to win a division will take the No. 5 seed, the top wild-card spot, while the Nos. 6 and 7 seeds will go to the second- and third-best non-division winners, respectively.
Any ties in the standings will be broken by the NFL’s official tiebreaking procedures. Below is a look at what they are for the 2022 NFL season.
To break a tie in division standings:
(Between two teams)
- Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games between the clubs).
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best net points in common games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all games.
- Coin toss
(Among three or more teams)
- Head-to-head (best won-lost-tied percentage in games among the clubs).
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the division.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best net points in common games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all games.
- Coin toss
To break a tie in wild-card standings:
(Between two teams)
- Head-to-head, if applicable.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best net points in conference games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all games.
- Coin toss.
(Among three or more teams)
- Apply division tiebreaker to eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division before proceeding to Step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tiebreaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two wild-card participants.
- Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
- Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
- Strength of victory.
- Strength of schedule.
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
- Best net points in conference games.
- Best net points in all games.
- Best net touchdowns in all games.
- Coin toss
The team with the lower seed gets home-field advantage in each playoff game from the wild-card round through the AFC and NFC championship games. The Super Bowl will be played at a neutral site; this year, that will be Glendale, Ariz.
Current NFL playoff picture
Here’s how the standings in both conferences break down ahead of Week 16 of the 2022 NFL season.
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched |
| 1. | Bills | 11-3 | Playoff berth |
| 2. | Chiefs | 11-3 | AFC West |
| 3. | Bengals | 10-4 | N/a |
| 4. | Titans | 7-7 | N/a |
| 5. | Ravens | 9-5 | N/a |
| 6. | Chargers | 8-6 | N/a |
| 7. | Dolphins | 8-6 | N/a |
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched |
| 1. | Eagles | 13-1 | Playoff berth |
| 2. | Vikings | 11-3 | NFC North |
| 3. | 49ers | 10-4 | NFC West |
| 4. | Buccaneers | 6-8 | N/a |
| 5. | Cowboys | 11-3 | Playoff berth |
| 6. | Giants | 8-5-1 | N/a |
| 7. | Commanders | 7-6-1 | N/a |
