Within each conference, the three division winners and the three non-division winners with the best overall regular season records qualified for the playoffs. The three division winners were seeded 1–3 based on the overall won-lost-tied record, and the three wild card teams were seeded 4–6. The NFL did not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there were no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosted the sixth seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosted the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference received a first-round bye. In the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosted the worst-remaining seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed played the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two winning teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, was played at a neutral site, the designated home team was based on an annual rotation by conference.
| Playoff seeds | ||
| Seed | AFC | NFC |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[{{{AFC 1}}}]] ([[AFC {{{AFC 1 div}}}|{{{AFC 1 div}}}]] winner) | [[{{{NFC 1}}}]] ([[NFC {{{NFC 1 div}}}|{{{NFC 1 div}}}]] winner) |
| 2 | [[{{{AFC 2}}}]] ([[AFC {{{AFC 2 div}}}|{{{AFC 2 div}}}]] winner) | [[{{{NFC 2}}}]] ([[NFC {{{NFC 2 div}}}|{{{NFC 2 div}}}]] winner) |
| 3 | [[{{{AFC 3}}}]] ([[AFC {{{AFC 3 div}}}|{{{AFC 3 div}}}]] winner) | [[{{{NFC 3}}}]] ([[NFC {{{NFC 3 div}}}|{{{NFC 3 div}}}]] winner) |
| 4 | [[{{{AFC 4}}}]] (wild card) | [[{{{NFC 4}}}]] (wild card) |
| 5 | [[{{{AFC 5}}}]] (wild card) | [[{{{NFC 5}}}]] (wild card) |
| 6 | [[{{{AFC 6}}}]] (wild card) | [[{{{NFC 6}}}]] (wild card) |