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Printable 2021 NFL Playoff Bracket – Make Your Pick for Super Bowl 55

Matt McEwan

by Matt McEwan in NFL Football

Updated Jan 13, 2021 · 9:20 AM PST

2021 NFL Playoff bracket
Make your picks all the way through the 2021 NFL playoffs.
  • The 2021 NFL Playoffs are set to kick off on Saturday, January 9 with Wild Card Weekend
  • The Chiefs and Packers receive byes in the first round
  • Fill out your own printable bracket below

Following a pretty exciting Week 17, which was capped off with the NFC East being won in the most NFC East way, the 14-team NFL playoff field is set. Wild Card Weekend will kickoff Saturday, January 9 with the Colts taking on the Bills at 1:05pm ET, and will continue into Sunday with three games on each day.

The Packers and Chiefs earned the top seed in their respective conferences and will enjoy a bye through the first round as a result. Kansas City enters the playoffs as the favorites to win the Super Bowl, and Green Bay has the second-best odds.

You can see the full 2021 NFL playoff bracket below. Download, print, and fill out your own NFL playoff bracket below and prove to the world that you’re the real NFL expert.

NFL Playoff Bracket

>>Download Printable 2021 NFL Playoff Bracket<<

How to Fill Out Your Bracket

If you’re unfamiliar with how the new (or old) NFL playoff format works, here are a few things to keep in mind:

  1. This is not a traditional bracket where teams move to predetermined spots after winning. This is why there are no lines connecting the teams from the first round to specific fields in the next round. The no. 1 seed will play the worst team (lowest seed) you have advancing to the second round. The two leftover teams play each other.
    1. For example, if you have all higher seeds winning (2, 3, and 4), then the 4-seed would play the 1 in the Divisional Round. Then the 2 and 3-seeds would play each other.
    2. If you have the 6 and 7 seeds both pulling off upsets in Wild Card Weekend, the 7-seed would play the 1 in the Divisional Round. The 6-seed would play whoever you have winning between the 4 and 5.
  2. These are not playoff series like the NBA and NHL. It’s a one game do-or-die in each round.
  3. Be sure to fill in your tiebreaker, which is the total number of points you believe will be scored in the Super Bowl

How to Score the Brackets

Of course, you are free to set up your own scoring system. But here’s how we will be scoring our NFL playoff brackets:

  • Award 1 point for every correct pick in the first round (Wild Card Round)
  • Award 2 points for every correct pick in the second round (Divisional Round)
  • Award 4 points for every correct pick in the third round (Conference Championships)
  • Award 8 points for having the correct Super Bowl winner
  • *Optional Bonus Point* – Award 1 bonus point for every correct matchup someone has starting in the second round (Divisional Round)

We will be counting the bonus points, but understand that some don’t like playing this way.

Need Help with NFL Playoff Picks?

There’s no shame in educating yourself and ensuring you are loaded with every bit of information available. Here are the places I’d suggest looking before filling out your bracket:

You can also follow this @SBD_Matt guy on Twitter. Rumors say he puts out some pretty good info on public money percentages and his SBD score predictor’s picks.

2021 NFL Playoffs Schedule

With the NFL Playoffs being single games, we have the entire schedule ahead of time. The only specific detail we wait on is which matchups will play in each time slot.

NFL Wild Card Weekend Schedule

Date (Time) Away Team Home Team
January 9 (1:05pm) Indianapolis Colts Buffalo Bills
January 9 (4:40pm) Los Angeles Rams Seattle Seahawks
January 9 (8:15pm) Tampa Bay Buccaneers Washington Football Team
January 10 (1:05pm) Baltimore Ravens Tennessee Titans
January 10 (4:40pm) Chicago Bears New Orleans Saints
January 10 (8:15pm) Cleveland Browns Pittsburgh Steelers

All times are in EST.

NFL Divisional Round Schedule

Date (Time) Away Team Home Team
January 16 TBD TBD
January 16 TBD TBD
January 17 TBD TBD
January 17 TBD TBD

NFL Conference Championship Schedule

Date (Time) Away Team Home Team
January 24 TBD TBD
January 24 TBD TBD

Super Bowl Schedule

Date (Time) Away Team Home Team
February 7 TBD TBD
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