Following the regular season, the top six teams in each conference of the National Football League meet in a single-elimination playoff. Teams play in a total of four rounds, the wild card weekend, divisional weekend, the championship games and the Super Bowl. In the final round, the champion of the American Football Conference meets the champion of the National Football Conference to play to become the champion of the NFL.http://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST#Week
In the 2010-11 NFL Playoffs, games began with the 2011 NFL Wild Card Weekend on Saturday, January 8, 2011, and Sunday, January 9, 2011. The 2011 NFL Divisional Weekend followed on Saturday, January 15, 2011, and Sunday, January 16, 2011, as did the 2011 NFC Championship Game and 2011 AFC Championship Game, both played on Sunday, January 23, 2011. The AFC and NFC champions, the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, continue on to play in Super Bowl XLV, held on Sunday, February 6, 2011, at Cowboys Stadium in Texas.http://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST&season=2010http://www.northtexassuperbowl.com/
2010-11 NFL Playoffs
NFC Wild Card Match-ups
NFL Playoff History
From 1933-1966, there were only playoff games when teams tied for a division title, however teams still competed in a championship game. Starting in 1967 and continuing to 1969, the NFL Playoffs included two rounds, the first to determine the league champion and the second being the Super Bowl, which originally was played between the American Football League champion and the National Football League champion.http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/history/pdfs/History/Chronology.pdf
Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, playoffs have been held after every season. In 1978, the playoff field expanded from eight to 10 teams, adding one wild-card game to the process. Starting in 1990 when a total of 12 teams were invited to play in the playoffs, a second wild-card game has been played as well.http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/history/pdfs/History/Chronology.pdf
2009-10 NFL Playoffs
- Saturday, January 9, 2010, at 8:00 p.m. EST on NBC
- Dallas Cowboys defeated Philadelphia Eagles 34-14http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=300109006
- Sunday, January 10, 2010, at 4:40 p.m. EST on FOX
- Arizona Cardinals defeat Green Bay Packers 51-45 in overtimehttp://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=300110022
- New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings had first-round byeshttp://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST&season=2009
- Sunday, January 10, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. EST on CBS
- Baltimore Ravens defeat New England Patriots 33-14http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=300110017
- Saturday, January 9, 2010, at 4:30 p.m. EST on NBC
- New York Jets defeat Cincinnati Bengals 24-14http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=300109004
- Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers had first-round byeshttp://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST&season=2009
- Saturday, January 16, 2010, at 4:30 p.m. EST on FOX
- New Orleans Saints defeated Arizona Cardinals 45-14http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=300116018
- Sunday, January 17, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. EST on FOX
- Minnesota Vikings defeated Dallas Cowboys 34-3http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?&gameId=300117016
- Saturday, January 16, 2010, at 8:15 p.m. EST on CBS
- Indianapolis Colts defeat Baltimore Ravens 20-3http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=300116011
- Sunday, January 17, 2010, at 4:40 p.m. EST on CBS
- New York Jets defeat San Diego Chargers 17-14http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=300117024
- January 24, 2010
- AFC Championship Game: Indianapolis Colts defeat New York Jets 30-17http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=300124011
- NFC Championship Game: New Orleans Saints defeat Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in overtimehttp://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=300124018
2008 NFL Playoffs
The 2008 NFL playoffs began with the Wild Card Weekend on January 3-4, 2009. The finale, Super Bowl XLIII was played on February 1, 2009, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, and featured the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals.http://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST&season=2008
- Wild Card Round: January 3-4, 2009http://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST&season=2008
- Divisional Playoffs: January 10-11, 2009http://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST&season=2008
- Conference Championship: January 18, 2009http://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST&season=2008
- Super Bowl XLIII: February 1, 2009, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Floridahttp://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST&season=2008
NFL Playoffs Commercial
Footage from the 2009-10 NFL Playoffs and a commercial for Gatorade is spliced together with music from Linkin Park. Among the moments featured include teams preparing for NFL Playoffs games and scenes from Super Bowl XLIV, which featured the New Orleans Saints defeating the Indianapolis Colts for their first championship.
References
Fast Facts
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Rounds
Wild card weekend, division round, conference championships, Super Bowl
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Determines
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First Super Bowl
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Held
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Teams
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Most championships
