Template:14TeamBracket-NFL/doc

This template is to generate a tournament bracket for the 14-team NFL playoffs, which began with the 2020 season. It is based on Template:12TeamBracket-NFL, with many modifications for the two extra teams.

Re-seeding

The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system. The number 1 seed will host the lowest surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, 6 or 7). See Current NFL Playoff system for more information.

Because of the 're-bracketing' done after the first round, second round match-ups are not determined until the 2/7-seed games in the Wild Card Round or the other two games are completed. This template will render dotted lines connecting the Wild Card winners to the Divisional round until at least one Divisional visiting team seed number is filled in for that conference, at which point the lines become solid. If either conference shows dotted lines, there is also a note at the bottom of the template that explains the re-bracketing process.

It is recommended to show the initial pairings under the assumption that the home team wins every game. During the course of the playoffs, if the team with the best seed in a round for a particular conference loses, the games for that conference in that round (and preceding rounds if any) need to be "flipped" to show the new pairings:

6              5              7
3              4  4           2  7
                
7              6                 1  7  
2              3  3

                              5
5              7              4  4
4              2  7  
                              6  
   1              1           3  3  3

Super Bowl "home" team

The Super Bowl is played at a neutral site. The conference champions take turns being designated the 'home' team for the purposes of uniform selection and coin toss. This template assumes that the NFC champion will be the 'home' team in the Super Bowl, which is correct when played in odd-numbered bowls/years (LV:2021), so that the AFC is shown on top and the NFC on bottom. In even-numbered bowls/years (LVI:2022), this needs to be overridden; use the named parameters G1=NFC and G2=AFC.

Generic bracket example

The following is a generic bracket example:

{{14TeamBracket-NFL
|G1=NFC
|G2=AFC
<!--Date-Place/Visitor Seed/Visiting Team/Visitor Score/Home Seed/Home Team/Home Score-->
<!--Wild card playoffs-->
|Jan. 4/5 - TBD|6|||3||
|Jan. 4/5 - TBD|7|||2||
|Jan. 4/5 - TBD|5|||4||
|Jan. 4/5 - TBD|6|||3||
|Jan. 4/5 - TBD|7|||2||
|Jan. 4/5 - TBD|5|||4||
<!--Divisional playoffs-->
|Jan. 11/12 - TBD||||||
|Jan. 11/12 - TBD||||1||
|Jan. 11/12 - TBD||||||
|Jan. 11/12 - TBD||||1||
<!--Conference championships-->
|Jan. 18 - TBD|||||| 
|Jan. 18 - TBD|||||| 
<!--Super Bowl-->
|RD4=Super Bowl
|Feb. 2 - TBD|NFC|||AFC|| 
}}

Jan. 4/5 - TBD

Jan. 11/12 - TBD

6

3

Jan. 18 - TBD

Jan. 4/5 - TBD

See Re-seeding below

7

Jan. 11/12 - TBD

2

NFC Championship

Jan. 4/5 - TBD

1

5

Divisional playoffs

Feb. 2 - TBD

4

Wild Card playoffs

NFC

Jan. 4/5 - TBD

Jan. 11/12 - TBD

AFC

Super Bowl

6

3

Jan. 18 - TBD

Jan. 4/5 - TBD

See Re-seeding below

7

Jan. 11/12 - TBD

2

AFC Championship

Jan. 4/5 - TBD

1

5

4

• Re-seeding: Home field is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket system; the outcome of the Wild Card games determine the matchups of the Divisional games, with the lowest remaining seed in each conference traveling to the first seed, and the second-lowest remaining seed traveling to the second-highest remaining seed.
• Conference Championship: Home field goes to the higher-remaining seed in each conference.