2027 NFL Playoff Bracket: Printable & Current Format
The 2027 NFL playoff bracket sets the road to Super Bowl LXI. Fourteen teams qualify, seven from the AFC and seven from the NFC, and the postseason runs from Saturday, January 16, 2027 through Sunday, February 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Below you get the live bracket, every round date, how seeding works and a free printable blank bracket in PDF and image format.
Seeds are not set yet. The 2026 regular season kicks off Wednesday, September 9, 2026 and ends Sunday, January 10, 2027. The NFL locks every playoff matchup that night.
Current 2027 NFL Playoff Bracket
Bracket status: waiting on the 2026 regular season. Seeds fill in on January 10, 2027.
Defending champion: the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29 to 13 in Super Bowl LX. The two meet again in the season opener on September 9, 2026.
Printable Blank NFL Playoff Bracket, Free Download
Print the blank bracket, fill in the seeds after Week 18 and mark each winner as the rounds go by. It fits one page, so it works on a fridge, an office wall or a bracket pool sheet.
Pick the PDF for clean printing or the PNG image for sharing.
When are the 2027 NFL Playoffs?
The dates below come from the NFL’s official 2026 to 2027 calendar. Note the gap before the final: the conference title games are on January 31 and the Super Bowl follows two weeks later on February 14.
| Round | Dates | Games | TV and streaming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 18 | Sat, Jan 9 to Sun, Jan 10 | 16 | Seeds are locked that night |
| Wild Card Weekend | Sat, Jan 16 to Mon, Jan 18 | 6 | CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN/ABC, Prime Video |
| Divisional Round | Sat, Jan 23 to Sun, Jan 24 | 4 | CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN/ABC |
| Conference Championships | Sun, Jan 31 | 2 | CBS (AFC), FOX (NFC) |
| Super Bowl LXI | Sun, Feb 14 | 1 | ESPN and ABC |
All 16 Week 18 games are division matchups, the 17th straight season the NFL has closed that way. It keeps seeding alive to the last snap, which is why the bracket above can still change completely on January 10.
Kickoff times and network pairings for each game: 2027 NFL Playoff Schedule
How the 2027 NFL Playoff Bracket Works
The NFL postseason is a single elimination tournament. Lose once and your season ends. Here is each stage in order.
14 teams, 7 per conference
Each conference sends four division winners and three wild card teams. Division winners are the best record in each of the four divisions. The next three best records in the conference take the wild card spots.
Seeding 1 through 7
Division winners hold seeds 1 to 4, ranked by record. Wild card teams take seeds 5 to 7. A division winner outranks a wild card team even with a worse record, so a 10 win division champion can host a 12 win wild card team.
First round bye
Only the No. 1 seed in each conference sits out Wild Card Weekend. That team gets a week of rest and hosts every game it plays until the Super Bowl.
Wild Card Round
Six games across three days, two on Saturday, three on Sunday and one on Monday night. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 7, the No. 3 hosts the No. 6 and the No. 4 hosts the No. 5.
Divisional Round and reseeding
The bracket reseeds. The No. 1 seed draws the lowest surviving seed, and the other two winners meet. This is why an NFL bracket is not a fixed path like the NCAA tournament.
Conference Championships and Super Bowl LXI
Two teams remain per conference and the higher seed hosts. The champions then meet at SoFi Stadium on February 14, 2027. SoFi is a neutral site for the Super Bowl, but it is home to the Rams and the Chargers, so either club could play the final in its own building, as the Rams did at Super Bowl LVI.
Tiebreakers That Decide Playoff Seeding
Teams finish level almost every year. The NFL uses two different tiebreaker lists depending on what is being decided, and both start with head to head.
Two teams tied in the same division
- Head to head record
- Record in division games
- Record in common games
- Record in conference games
- Strength of victory, then strength of schedule
- Points based measures, then a coin toss
Two teams tied for a wild card spot
- Head to head record, if they played
- Record in conference games
- Record in common games, minimum of four
- Strength of victory, then strength of schedule
- Points based measures, then a coin toss
Note the swap at step two. Division ties look at division record first, wild card ties look at conference record first. When three or more teams are level, the league reduces each division to a single team, then applies the wild card list to the survivors. Track it live on the current NFL standings and the NFL playoff picture.
What Is New for the 2027 Postseason
- Latest Super Bowl ever. February 14, 2027 passes February 13, 2022 as the latest calendar date the game has been played. It is also the first Super Bowl on Valentine’s Day and on Presidents’ Day weekend.
- ESPN’s first Super Bowl. Super Bowl LXI airs on ESPN with a simulcast on ABC. It is the first Super Bowl ESPN has ever carried and ABC’s first since Super Bowl XL in 2006.
- Format unchanged. Detroit’s bylaw to seed the field strictly by record, which would have stripped the guaranteed home game from most division winners, was withdrawn before a vote. Division winners still hold seeds 1 to 4 and still host in the Wild Card Round.
- Still 17 games. As of August 2026 the NFL and the players union have not opened formal talks on an 18 game season, and the union says players have no appetite for it. The bracket stays at 14 teams.
Where to Watch Each Round
Playoff games run across five providers. CBS, FOX, NBC and ABC are free over the air with a digital antenna, which covers most of the bracket including Super Bowl LXI on ABC. One Wild Card game streams only on Prime Video, so no antenna or cable package reaches it.
Single app routes are Paramount+ for CBS, Peacock for NBC, FOX One for FOX and ESPN Unlimited for ESPN and ABC. YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo carry all four broadcast networks in one bill. Sling TV carries ESPN, so it can show Super Bowl LXI, but it never carries CBS and cannot cover the full bracket on its own.
Bookmark this page and check back after Week 18. The 2027 NFL playoff bracket updates as each seed is confirmed and each game ends, from Wild Card Weekend on January 16 through Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027. Print the blank bracket now so you are ready the moment the field is set.
2027 NFL Playoff Bracket FAQ
When do the 2027 NFL playoffs start?
Super Wild Card Weekend begins on Saturday, January 16, 2027 and runs through Monday, January 18. The 14 team field is set the night of Sunday, January 10, when Week 18 ends.
How does the 2027 NFL playoff bracket work?
It is a single elimination bracket. Seven teams qualify in each conference. The No. 1 seed gets a bye, the No. 2 hosts the No. 7, the No. 3 hosts the No. 6 and the No. 4 hosts the No. 5. Winners advance until one team per conference reaches Super Bowl LXI.
Which teams get a first round bye in 2027?
Only the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Each skips Wild Card Weekend, enters in the Divisional Round and hosts every playoff game it plays until the Super Bowl.
Does the NFL bracket reseed after each round?
Yes. After Wild Card Weekend the highest remaining seed in each conference plays the lowest remaining seed. That is why an NFL bracket path is not fixed the way it is in college basketball.
When and where is Super Bowl LXI?
Super Bowl LXI is on Sunday, February 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Kickoff is expected around 6:30 p.m. ET, though the NFL has not locked the start time. It is the latest calendar date a Super Bowl has ever been played and the first on Valentine’s Day.
Which channels show the 2027 NFL playoffs?
CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN and ABC carry the postseason, and one Wild Card game streams only on Prime Video. Super Bowl LXI airs on ESPN with a simulcast on ABC, the first Super Bowl on ESPN and the first on ABC since 2006.
Where can I download a printable blank NFL playoff bracket?
Use the Download PDF or Download Picture buttons on this page. The blank bracket fits one sheet, covers all four rounds and leaves space to write in seeds, teams and scores.