Template:12TeamBracket-NFL/doc

This is a documentation subpage for Template:12TeamBracket-NFL.
It may contain usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page.

This template is to generate a tournament bracket for the 12-team NFL playoffs, which began with the 1990 season. It is loosely based on Template:Round16 and its variations, with many modifications for the peculiar nature of the NFL playoffs. Changes in the format for the Arena Football League playoffs make it usable to portray the brackets there as well.

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 or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4 or 5). 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 3/6-seed games in the Wild Card Round 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              6
3              4  4           3  6
   2              2              1  6

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

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 (XXXIX:2005, XLI:2007), so that the AFC is shown on top and the NFC on bottom. In even-numbered bowls/years (XL:2006, XLII:2008), this needs to be overridden; use the named parameters G1=NFC and G2=AFC. For use with the Arena Football League, the parameters League=AFL, G1=American, G2=National (or vice versa), RD2=Quarterfinals, and RD4=Arena Bowl __ should be used

Generic bracket example

The following is a generic bracket example:

{{12TeamBracket-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|5|||4||
|Jan. 4/5 - TBD|6|||3||
|Jan. 4/5 - TBD|5|||4||
<!--Divisional playoffs-->
|Jan. 11/12 - TBD||||2||
|Jan. 11/12 - TBD||||1||
|Jan. 11/12 - TBD||||2||
|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

2

See Re-seeding below

NFC

Jan. 4/5 - TBD

Jan. 11/12 - TBD

5

NFC Championship

4

Feb. 2 - TBD

1

Wild Card playoffs

Divisional playoffs

Jan. 4/5 - TBD

NFC

Jan. 11/12 - TBD

AFC

6

Super Bowl

3

Jan. 18 - TBD

2

See Re-seeding below

AFC

Jan. 4/5 - TBD

Jan. 11/12 - TBD

5

AFC Championship

4

1

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 games between the sixth and third seeds in each conference determine where the Wild Card winners will play in the next round. When a third seed wins, they next travel to the second seed. When the sixth seed wins, they travel to the first seed. The winner between the fifth and fourth seeds will play the remaining second round host team in that conference.
Conference Championship home field goes to the higher seed remaining.

Filled Bracket Example

{{12TeamBracket-NFL
|G1=NFC
|G2=AFC
<!--Date-Place/Visitor Seed/Visiting Team/Visitor Score/Home Seed/Home Team/Home Score-->
<!--Wild card playoffs-->
|Jan. 8 - [[Giants Stadium]]|'''5'''|'''[[Carolina Panthers|Carolina]]'''|'''23'''|4|[[New York Giants|N.Y. Giants]]|0
|Jan. 7 - [[Raymond James Stadium]]|'''6'''|'''[[Washington Commanders|Washington]]'''|'''17'''|3|[[Tampa Bay Buccaneers|Tampa Bay]]|10
|Jan. 8 - [[Paycor Stadium|Paul Brown Stadium]]|'''6'''|'''[[Pittsburgh Steelers|Pittsburgh]]'''|'''31'''|3|[[Cincinnati Bengals|Cincinnati]]|17
|Jan. 7 - [[Gillette Stadium]]|5|[[Jacksonville Jaguars|Jacksonville]]|3|'''4'''|'''[[New England Patriots|New England]]'''|'''28'''
<!--Divisional playoffs-->
|Jan. 15 - [[Soldier Field]]|'''5'''|'''Carolina'''|'''29'''|2|[[Chicago Bears|Chicago]]|21
|Jan. 14 - [[Qwest Field]]|6|Washington|10|'''1'''|'''[[Seattle Seahawks|Seattle]]'''|'''20'''
|Jan. 15 - [[RCA Dome]]|'''6'''|'''Pittsburgh'''|'''21'''|1|[[Indianapolis Colts|Indianapolis]]|18
|Jan. 14 - [[INVESCO Field]]|4|New England|13|'''2'''|'''[[Denver Broncos|Denver]]'''|'''27'''
<!--Conference championships-->
|Jan. 22 - Qwest Field|5|Carolina|14|'''1'''|'''Seattle'''|'''34'''
|Jan. 22 - INVESCO Field|'''6'''|'''Pittsburgh'''|'''34'''|2|Denver|17
<!--Super Bowl XL-->
|RD4=[[Super Bowl XL]]
|Feb. 5 - [[Ford Field]]|N1|Seattle|10|'''A6'''|'''Pittsburgh'''|'''21'''}}


Jan. 8 - Giants Stadium			Jan. 15 - Soldier Field
5	Carolina	23
			5	Carolina	29
4	N.Y. Giants	0				Jan. 22 - Qwest Field
			2	Chicago	21

			NFC
Jan. 7 - Raymond James Stadium						5	Carolina	14
			Jan. 14 - Qwest Field
						1	Seattle	34

6	Washington	17				NFC Championship
			6	Washington	10
3	Tampa Bay	10							Feb. 5 - Ford Field
			1	Seattle	20
Wild Card playoffs
			Divisional playoffs
Jan. 8 - Paul Brown Stadium									N1	Seattle	10
			Jan. 15 - RCA Dome
									A6	Pittsburgh	21

6	Pittsburgh	31							Super Bowl XL
			6	Pittsburgh	21
3	Cincinnati	17				Jan. 22 - INVESCO Field
			1	Indianapolis	18

			AFC
Jan. 7 - Gillette Stadium						6	Pittsburgh	34
			Jan. 14 - INVESCO Field
						2	Denver	17

5	Jacksonville	3				AFC Championship
			4	New England	13
4	New England	28
			2	Denver	27