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Completed 2023-24 NFL playoff bracket

The 2023-24 NFL regular season ended after Week 18 on Sunday, January 7th, 2023. The NFL playoffs began January 13 with two games and Wildcard Weekend ran through January 15. The Super Bowl was played Sunday, February 11, 2024 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs won their second straight.

The image above – which will be updated after each week of the 2023-24 NFL season – displays the final 2023-24 NFL Playoff bracket, updated following the AFC and NFC Championship games. (If you’re looking to fill out your own bracket, download our printable NFL playoff bracket.)

You’ll find much more NFL playoff information on this page. The only thing we don’t have here is NFL playoff odds, which include odds to make and miss the playoffs. You can jump to a specific section using the links below:

NFL Playoff Picture | NFL Playoff Dates & Schedule | Clinched Playoffs | Clinching Scenarios | Remaining Schedules | Eliminated | NFL Playoff FAQs

NFL Playoff Picture

The top seven teams from the AFC will make the playoffs. The 2023-24 NFL playoff picture shows a few new teams entering the fold in the AFC. The bracket is now set after the Bills beat the Dolphins to take the AFC East crown.

The Chiefs, Ravens, Dolphins, and Bills are the teams who will be returning to the playoffs, as all have now clinched. The Browns, Texans, and Steelers will be new faces, as they all have now clinched following the Jaguars’ Week 18 loss.

The top seven seeds in the NFC will make the playoffs. The NFC currently has four teams who sit in a playoff position for 2023-24 NFL playoffs who also made last year’s postseason: the Eagles, 49ers, Cowboys, and Buccaneers. After Tampa Bay’s win over the Panthers in Week 18, all of those teams have now clinched. The Rams, Lions, and Packers will be the three new faces in. The bracket for the NFC is fully set now.

NFL Playoff Dates & Schedule

Date (Time ET) Wild Card Matchup
Saturday, Jan 13 (4:30pm) (5) Cleveland Browns vs (4) Houston Texans
Saturday, Jan 13 (8:15pm) (6) Miami Dolphins vs (3) Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday, Jan 14 (1:00pm) (7) Pittsburgh Steelers vs (2) Buffalo Bills
Sunday, Jan 14 (4:30pm) (7) Green Bay Packers vs (2) Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, Jan 14 (8:15pm) (6) Los Angeles Rams vs (3) Detroit Lions
Monday, Jan 15 (8:15pm) (5) Philadelphia Eagles vs (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Date (Time ET) Divisional Round Matchup
Saturday, Jan 20 (4:30pm) (4) Houston Texans vs (1) Baltimore Ravens
Saturday, Jan 20 (8:15pm) (7) Green Bay Packers vs (1) San Francisco 49ers
Sunday, Jan 21 (3:00pm) (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs (3) Detroit Lions
Sunday, Jan 21 (6:30pm) (3) Kansas City Chiefs vs (2) Buffalo Bills
Date (Time ET) NFL Conference Championship Matchup
Sunday, Jan 28 (3:00pm) (3) Kansas City Chiefs vs (1) Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, Jan 28 (6:30pm) (3) Detroit Lions vs (1) San Francisco 49ers
Date (Time ET) Super BowlMatchup
Sunday, Feb 11 (6:30pm) (3) Kansas City Chiefs vs (1) San Francisco 49ers

The 2023-24 NFL Playoffs will be the third year to feature “Super Wild Card Weekend,” where there will only be two games played on the Saturday so there’s a game to be played on Monday night of Wild Card Weekend. It will be the fourth year of the “new” playoff format that sees seven teams get in from each conference and only the top seed from each conference receiving a bye.

The Super Bowl will kick off at 6:30pm ET on Sunday, February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. It will be a rematch of Super Bowl 54, as the Chiefs take on the 49ers.

Teams Who Have Clinched a Playoff Spot

AFC Teams to Clinch Playoff Berth NFC Teams to Clinch Playoff Berth
Baltimore Ravens San Francisco 49ers
Miami Dolphins Dallas Cowboys
Cleveland Browns Philadelphia Eagles
Kansas City Chiefs Detroit Lions
Houston Texans LA Rams
Buffalo Bills Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pittsburgh Steelers Green Bay Packers

The order the teams are listed in above is not indicative of their playoff seeding, rather the order they clinched playoff berths in.

We didn’t see any team clinch a playoff spot last year until Week 14. We saw our first team clinch a playoff spot this season after Week 14 as well, as the San Francisco 49ers punched their ticket to the postseason with a win over the Seahawks. The Dallas Cowboys became the second team to clinch a playoff spot, but it didn’t come after a win of theirs, rather other teams losing.

The Ravens became the first AFC team to clinch a playoff spot after they beat the Jaguars on Sunday Night Football of Week 15. (Three NFC teams had already clinched prior to this.)

The 14 teams above make up the final NFL playoff bracket.

NFL Playoff Clinching Scenarios Week 18

Team How They Clinch Playoff Berth
Jacksonville Jaguars Clinch playoff berth with a win (at Titans)
Buffalo Bills Clinch playoff berth with a win (at Dolphins) OR a Jaguars loss (at Titans)
Indianapolis Colts Clinch playoff berth with a win (vs Texans)
Houston Texans Clinch playoff berth with a win (at Colts)
Pittsburgh Steelers Clinch a playoff berth with a win (at Ravens) AND Bills loss (at Dolphins) or Jaguars loss (at Titans)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Clinch playoff berth with a win (at Panthers)
Green Bay Packers Clinch a playoff berth with a win (vs Bears) OR Seahawks loss (at Cardinals) & Vikings loss (at Lions) & Saints/Bucs loss (vs Falcons / at Panthers)
 Seattle Seahawks Clinch a playoff berth with a win (at Cardinals) AND Packers loss (vs Bears)
New Orleans Saints Clinch playoff berth with a win (vs Falcons) AND Packers loss (vs Bears) AND Seahawks loss (at Cardinals)
Minnesota Vikings Clinch playoff berth with a win (at Lions) AND Packers loss (vs Bears) AND Seahawks loss (at Cardinals) AND Saints loss (vs Falcons)
Team How They Clinch Division
Miami Dolphins Clinch AFC East with a win or tie (vs Bills)
Buffalo Bills Clinch AFC East with a win (at Dolphins)
Jacksonville Jaguars Clinch AFC South with a win (at Titans)
Indianapolis Colts Clinch AFC South with a win (vs Texans) AND a Jaguars loss (at Titans)
Houston Texans Clinch AFC South with a win (at Colts) AND a Jaguars loss (at Titans)
Dallas Cowboys Clinch NFC East with win (at Commanders) OR Eagles loss (at Giants)
Philadelphia Eagles Clinch NFC East with a win (at Giants) AND a Cowboys loss (at Commanders)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Clinch NFC South with a win (at Panthers)
New Orleans Saints Clinch NFC South with a win (vs Falcons) AND a Buccaneers loss (at Panthers)
Atlanta Falcons Clinch NFC South with a win (at Saints) AND a Buccaneers loss (at Panthers)

There are still five playoff spots on the line entering Week 18, as well as four divisional titles. The above has been updated ahead of Week 18. After diving into the NFL tiebreakers a little further, I will expand upon the above if need be.

Remaining Schedules for Teams in Playoff Hunt

Team Opponent
Jacksonville Jaguars at TEN
Buffalo Bills at MIA
Indianapolis Colts vs HOU
Houston Texans at IND
Pittsburgh Steelers at BAL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at CAR
Los Angeles Rams at SF
Seattle Seahawks at ARI
Minnesota Vikings at DET
Green Bay Packers vs CHI
New Orleans Saints vs ATL
Atlanta Falcons at NO

The teams above are ones who are playing for something in Week 18.

Teams Eliminated from Playoff Contention

Teams Eliminated from Playoff Contention
Carolina Panthers
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Tennessee Titans
Arizona Cardinals
Washington Commanders
Los Angeles Chargers
New York Giants
Las Vegas Raiders
Denver Broncos
Cincinnati Bengals
Chicago Bears
Indianapolis Colts
Atlanta Falcons
Jacksonville Jaguars
New Orleans Saints
Seattle Seahawks
Minnesota Vikings

Just like last season, we saw our first team eliminated from postseason contention after Week 13. This year it was the Carolina Panthers. The New England Patriots became the second team eliminated from the playoffs, and the first AFC team eliminated, after Week 14. The Jets and Titans joined them after Week 15.

How Many Teams Make the NFL Playoffs?

Starting in the 2020 NFL season (2021 NFL Playoffs), seven teams from each conference get into the NFL playoffs. This makes a total of 14 teams in the playoffs.

Prior to this, only six teams from each conference made the playoffs, and 12 total. The format change starting in the 2020-21 NFL season was made to add two more teams to the postseason, one in each conference.

How Many Teams Get a First-Round Bye in the NFL Playoffs?

The change to the NFL playoff format ahead of the 2020-21 NFL season also saw an adjustment to the number of teams who get a first-round bye. With seven teams from each conference making the playoffs, only one team—the top seed—from each conference gets a bye through the wildcard round.

Prior to the change, the top two seeds in each conference would get a bye through the wildcard round. With only one team from each conference getting a first-round bye, the NFL added another wildcard game to each conference, totaling six wildcard games now instead of four.

How Do the NFL Playoffs Work?

As mentioned above, seven teams from each conference (the AFC and NFC) make the NFL playoffs. Each team who makes the playoffs is seeded from 1-7 in their respective conference. The two conferences do not mix or meet until the Super Bowl.

The top four seeds in each conference are given to the teams who win their division. These four division winners are ordered 1-4 based on their records. The final three spots—seeds 5 to 7—in each conference are called “wildcard spots”. These are given to the three non-division winners who have the best records in their conference.

The NFL playoffs begin with the Wildcard Round. The top seed in each conference gets a bye through this round, leaving three games to be played in each conference. The matchups are as follows: 7-seed vs 2-seed, 6-seed vs 3-seed, and 5-seed vs 4-seed.

The NFL playoffs are not a traditional bracket, where teams move through to a fixed spot. The second round of the NFL playoffs is called the Divisional Round. The 1-seed in each conference, who was given a bye through the Wildcard Round, will get matched up with the worst remaining team in their respective conference. If the 7-seed were to upset the 2-seed, they would have to play the 1-seed in the Divisional Round. After setting the best-vs-worst matchup, the remaining two teams in each conference (second-best and second-worst seeds remaining) will battle it out in the other Divisional Round matchup.

After the Divisional Round comes the Conference Championships, where there are only two teams remaining in each conference. These two teams will play for the right to go to the Super Bowl and play the conference champion from the other side.

Best Promos for Betting on NFL Playoffs

Looking for the best promos for betting on the NFL playoffs? We’ve compiled a list of our favorites to help you get started.

Hit the links in the left column to get more information on the best promo codes from each sportsbook, or use the links in the right column to start the registration process and unlock the listed offer. If you’re looking for a new app to bet on the NFL this season, look no further than the ESPN Bet sportsbook with a bonus available using this ESPN Bet promo code for new users.

These sign-up promos will get you started at some of the best sportsbooks for betting on the NFL playoffs. Operators like DraftKings, Bet365, BetMGM, FanDuel, and Caesars Sportsbook offer attractive welcome offers to attract new customers who want to wager on all the post-season action.

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After working in TV, Matt turned his focus towards numbers, specifically odds. He has been with us since 2016 and serves as SBD's Editor-in-Chief, credited with creating our futures trackers, SBD's score predictor, SBD Sharp, and his own model for calculating NFL SOS, among other products.