Upcoming NFL Playoffs dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Seats for a January playoff game, in short
For an NFL playoff game, choose a middle-row sideline seat between the 20-yard lines. If the lower level is out of reach, an upper-level sideline seat usually beats a lower end zone seat, because every snap matters and you want to see all of them. The NFL playoffs are a four-round, single-elimination tournament (one loss and a team is out) that runs through January and ends with the Super Bowl in February, and every game before the Super Bowl is played at the higher seed's stadium.
- Best view: lower-level sideline, between the 20s, mid rows.
- Best value view: upper-level sideline.
- Best in the cold: club seats with indoor concourses.
- Looks close, plays far: low end zone rows, which flatten the field.
Cold, wind and roofs: adjusting by stadium
Most playoff games happen in midwinter, so the building matters as much as the section.
Open-air northern stadiums
Lambeau Field, Soldier Field and Gillette Stadium can be bitterly cold in January. The upper rows take more wind. A sun side, where the stadium has one, is worth more now than at any other point in the season.
Domes and roofed stadiums
Ford Field, U.S. Bank Stadium, Caesars Superdome and Allegiant Stadium take weather out of the picture, so the choice is purely about sightline and price.
Club level
Indoor concourses turn a long, cold afternoon into a manageable one, which is why club seats earn their premium in a winter playoff game.
Road fans
When a visiting team travels well, its fans tend to group together. Sitting near them makes the day easier.
Which rounds and games draw the crowds
- Wild Card round: the lowest demand of the postseason, with six games and the most seats in play.
- Divisional round: a clear step up, with four games and a top seed hosting after its bye.
- Conference championships: the highest demand short of the Super Bowl, since the winner goes straight to it. See the NFC Championship Game and AFC Championship Game guides for those.
Inside any round, demand climbs with a long playoff drought for the home team, a division rival or historic opponent, a short drive for visiting fans, and a prime-time or weekend slot over an early or weekday kickoff. A severe forecast at an open-air stadium can soften demand in the final day or two.
Short-notice buying: who gets seats first
A playoff game has the shortest sales window in football. A team may not know it is hosting until the last weeks of the regular season, and the opponent and kickoff slot can be set less than a week out.
- Season ticket holders: each team writes its own playoff rules, and season ticket holders are generally offered their seats first, leaving far fewer for the public than in the regular season.
- Resale: the realistic route for most fans. Listings appear as soon as a home game becomes possible, so check how a listing handles a game that never takes place in that stadium.
Reserved Seat backs every order with a 100% guarantee, which matters when you buy before a matchup is final.
Seeding, byes and the reseeded bracket
Fourteen teams qualify, seven per conference (the AFC and the NFC). Division winners take seeds 1 through 4 by record, and the three wild cards (the best remaining records) take seeds 5 through 7. The No. 1 seed skips the first round and is guaranteed a home game in the second. The NFL is the only one of the four major North American leagues that is single elimination all the way through.
The bracket is reseeded after each round, so the lowest surviving seed always plays at the top seed. The 2025–26 calendar shows the pattern:
- Wild Card, January 10–12, 2026: six games from Saturday to Monday, with 2 hosting 7, 3 hosting 6 and 4 hosting 5.
- Divisional, January 17–18: four games, the No. 1 seed hosting the lowest seed left.
- Conference championships, January 25: both on one Sunday, the AFC at 3:00 p.m. and the NFC at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, with the slots rotating each year.
- Super Bowl LX, February 8, 2026: at a site chosen years earlier.
For the 2026 season, Super Bowl LXI is set for February 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium, with the earlier rounds in the weeks before it once the league publishes dates.
Travel plans when the host is unknown
- Keep it refundable. A home game can hinge on the final regular-season weekend or a wild card result, so flexible flights and hotels are worth the cost.
- Expect a weekday option. The wild card round has included a Monday night game in recent seasons; in January 2026, the Texans played at the Steelers on Monday, January 12.
- Confirm the rules late. Bag policies, parking and mobile-ticket requirements belong to each team and stadium and can change. Check the home team's site close to the date, and follow the bracket on the NFL playoffs page.
From one title game to 14 teams
The 1932 Chicago Bears and Portsmouth Spartans finished tied and settled it indoors at Chicago Stadium on an 80-yard dirt field. A scheduled NFL Championship Game followed in 1933, and for more than three decades that one game was most of the postseason.
- 1967: four teams.
- 1970: eight teams after the AFL–NFL merger.
- 1975: home field tied to seeding instead of a yearly rotation.
- 1978: ten teams, adding a second wild card per conference.
- 1990: twelve teams.
- 2020: fourteen teams, with a bye only for each conference's top seed.
Milestones along the way include the 1958 Colts–Giants championship, the first postseason game decided in overtime, and the 2015–16 wild card weekend, when every road team won. Since 2022, playoff overtime has guaranteed both teams at least one possession.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I sit at an NFL playoff game?
A middle-row sideline seat between the 20-yard lines gives the clearest view. An upper sideline seat is usually a better pick than a low end zone seat.
Are club seats worth it for a cold-weather playoff game?
Often, yes. Indoor concourses make a long January game in an open-air stadium much more comfortable.
Which playoff round is easiest to get into?
The Wild Card round, which has the most games and seats. Demand rises in the divisional round and peaks at the conference championships.
How far ahead are NFL playoff games scheduled?
Often less than a week. Reseeding means matchups depend on the previous round, and the league sets kickoff slots once the games are known.
Do any NFL playoff games fall on a weekday?
Yes. Recent Wild Card rounds have included a Monday night game, such as Texans at Steelers on January 12, 2026.
Which teams get a first-round bye?
Only the No. 1 seed in each conference. It skips the Wild Card round and hosts a divisional game.