Tool 04 · Clinch
What does your team need?
Playoff math, written out in sentences instead of shorthand.
Pick a team
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
Clinching scenarios
No team chosen
Choose a team above.
We'll show what they need this week — in sentences, not in the shorthand the scoreboard graphics use.
- Team
- —
- Division
- —
- Status
- No feed
How the field is built
Fourteen teams make the playoffs, seven from each conference. Four get in by winning a division and three by having the best records left over.
Four division winners
First place in the East, North, South and West. They take seeds 1 through 4, ordered by record.
Three wild cards
The three best records left in the conference, whatever division they came from. Seeds 5, 6 and 7.
One bye
Only the 1 seed sits out the wild card round. Everyone else plays that weekend.
Higher seed hosts
Every game, all the way through. It is why winning a weak division beats being fifth in a strong one.
The tiebreakers, in order
Same record, same division? The league walks down this list until somebody wins a step. Three-way ties run the whole list again once one team is knocked out — which is the part that surprises people.
- 01
Head to head
Did one team beat the other? If they split, or never played, move on.
- 02
Division record
Only for teams in the same division. Best record inside the division wins.
- 03
Common games
Records against the opponents both teams played, minimum of four.
- 04
Conference record
Best record against everyone in the same conference.
- 05
Strength of victory
The combined record of every team you beat.
- 06
Strength of schedule
The combined record of everyone you played, won or lost.
- 07
Points and coin flips
Point differential, then scoring comparisons, and then — genuinely — a coin toss.
Questions
What does “clinched” actually mean?
It means the result is locked in no matter what happens in the remaining games. Not likely — guaranteed. A team clinches a playoff spot when there is no combination of remaining results that leaves them out.
What is the difference between clinching a spot and clinching the division?
Clinching a playoff spot means you are in, somewhere. Clinching the division means you finish first in your division, which also guarantees a home playoff game. Division winners take the top four seeds in each conference.
What do x, y and z mean in the standings?
x means clinched a playoff spot, y means clinched the division, z means clinched a first-round bye or home field, and an asterisk usually flags the conference's top seed. Different broadcasters use slightly different marks, which is exactly why this page writes it out instead.
How many teams make the playoffs?
Fourteen — seven from each conference. The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 by record, and the three best remaining teams in the conference take seeds 5, 6 and 7. Only the 1 seed gets a bye.
Why won't this page tell me my team's scenario?
Because a live standings source isn't connected to this site yet, and a made-up scenario is worse than no scenario. When a trustworthy current-season feed is in place, this page fills itself in through the same data layer the rest of the site uses.