How many teams make the NFL playoffs? Updated standings for 2026 playoff bracket

How many teams make the NFL playoffs? Updated standings for 2026 playoff bracket originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The 2025 NFL regular season is now complete, and the field of 14 playoff teams is set.

With the conclusion of all Week 18 games, all 14 of the playoff spots are clinched, and all seeding is finalized. The final question was who would win the AFC North and take the No. 4 seed, with the Steelers claiming the final available postseason spot.

Both the AFC and NFC have crowned their division winners and confirmed their Wild Card teams. The Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks secured the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences, earning the lone first-round byes and home-field advantage.

Here is the projected 2026 NFL Playoff Bracket:

MORE WEEK 18 NFL:

How many teams make the NFL playoffs?

Fourteen teams of the 32 in the NFL will make the playoffs. Each conference will see seven teams enter the postseason, with the top four seeds in each bracket going to division winners. The No. 1 seed in each conference will earn home-field advantage until the Super Bowl and a first-round bye. The other division winners will host a wild-card game in the first round.

MORE: Updated 2026 NFL Draft order

AFC playoff picture

Seed	Team	Record
1	Broncos	14-3
2	Patriots	14-3
3	Jaguars	13-4
4	Steelers	10-7
5	Texans	12-5
6	Bills	12-5
7	Chargers	11-6

The AFC playoff picture is now entirely locked in, with the Steelers winning the AFC North to claim the final available spot in the No. 4 seed.

The Denver Broncos clinched the AFC West and, with their Week 18 win over the Chargers, they secured the No. 1 seed, the lone first-round bye, and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The New England Patriots (AFC East winner) are locked in as the No. 2 seed, and the Jacksonville Jaguars (AFC South winner) are the No. 3 seed.

The last divisional spot, the No. 4 seed, went to Pittsburgh Steelers with the AFC North title thanks to their Week 18 win over the Ravens. The Wild Card spots are all confirmed, with the Houston Texans locked in as the No. 5 seed, the Buffalo Bills as the No. 6 seed, and the Los Angeles Chargers as the No. 7 seed.

How Broncos clinched No. 1 seed

Denver had the easiest path to clinching the No. 1 seed and did just that, defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 18. Sean Payton’s team finished the season 14-3, tied for the best record in the AFC. The Broncos have the tiebreaker over the 14-3 New England Patriots; Denver had a better record against common opponents, specifically beating the Las Vegas Raiders twice, while New England lost to them once.

MORE:Ranking the 16 greatest Broncos players of all time

NFC playoff picture

Seed	Team	Record
1	Seahawks	14-3
2	Bears	11-6
3	Eagles	11-6
4	Panthers	8-9
5	Rams	12-5
6	49ers	12-5
7	Packers	9-7-1

The NFC playoff picture is now completely finalized following the conclusion of all games in Week 18, including the final results that decided the last few seeds.

The Seattle Seahawks secured the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed with the lone first-round bye and home-field advantage after defeating the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night. The Chicago Bears held off the Philadelphia Eagles for the No. 2 seed (NFC North Champion) due to their head-to-head tiebreaker, while the Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East Champion) are locked into the No. 3 seed.

The Carolina Panthers locked themselves into the No. 4 seed as NFC South champions with a final 8-9 record. This was clinched on Sunday, despite losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, as the Atlanta Falcons’ win turned a two-way tie into a three-way tie that benefited Carolina. The Panthers will host a playoff game for the first time since 2017.

NFC playoff picture is official:

🏈Packers (7) @ Bears (2)
🏈49ers (6) @ Eagles (3)
🏈Rams (5) @ Panthers (4)

Bye: Seattle Seahawks

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 5, 2026

The Wild Card spots are confirmed as follows:

The San Francisco 49ers are the No. 5 seed after losing the NFC West title, finishing with a 12-5 record.
The Los Angeles Rams are the No. 6 seed after defeating the Arizona Cardinals.
The Green Bay Packers are locked in as the No. 7 seed.

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How Seahawks clinched No. 1 seed

The Seahawks had an easy case for earning the No. 1 seed, and they executed their plan perfectly by defeating the 49ers in their Week 18 matchup on Saturday night. Seattle’s victory gave them a final record of 14-3, automatically crowning them the NFC West Division champions and securing the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed, along with a coveted first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. The 49ers, with a 12-5 record following the loss, now fall to the No. 5 seed and will be forced to play on the road as a Wild Card team during the opening weekend of the postseason.

The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC runs through Lumen Field.

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