A wild card game is single elimination, so it has to produce a winner. If the score is tied at the end of the fourth quarter, the game goes to overtime under the postseason rules below.
The current rule
The NFL amended its postseason overtime rules in March 2022 so that both teams are guaranteed at least one possession, even if the team that gets the ball first scores a touchdown. The same rule was extended to the regular season in April 2025.
This replaced the format adopted in March 2010 for the postseason (and 2012 for the regular season), under which a touchdown or a defensive safety on the first possession ended the game immediately, while a field goal on the opening possession gave the other team a chance to answer.
Before 2010, overtime was pure sudden death: the first score of any kind won the game. The NFL first used overtime for divisional tiebreaker games in 1940 and for championship games in 1946, and the first postseason game decided in extra time was the 1958 NFL Championship Game.
If overtime is still tied
Because a postseason game cannot end in a tie, additional overtime periods are played as needed, and the clock rules restart as though a new game had begun:
- Teams change ends of the field between the first and second overtime periods.
- There is a two-minute warning in the second overtime period, but not in the first.
- If the game is still tied after two overtime periods, the team that lost or deferred the opening coin toss chooses to kick, receive or defend a goal.
- From the start of the third overtime period onward, true sudden death applies — the next score wins.
- There is no extended halftime-style break between periods, only the usual break between quarters. If a game reached a fifth overtime, another coin toss would be held.
No NFL playoff game has ever gone past two overtime periods. The longest overtime game on record lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds, decided by a 37-yard field goal 7:40 into the second overtime of an AFC playoff game on December 25, 1971, which ended 27–24.
Overtime in recent wild card games
The six wild card games of January 2026 were all settled in regulation, although four of them were decided by a winning touchdown inside the final three minutes. Overtime did appear later that postseason, in two divisional round games. The results are on 2026 NFL wild card results.
Sources: Wikipedia, “NFL playoffs” and “2025–26 NFL playoffs”.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can an NFL wild card game end in a tie?
No. Postseason games cannot end in a tie, so additional overtime periods are played until a winner is decided.
Does both teams getting the ball apply in the playoffs?
Yes. Under the rule the league adopted in March 2022 for the postseason, both teams get at least one possession even if the team that receives first scores a touchdown.
Has a playoff game ever gone past two overtimes?
No NFL playoff game has gone beyond two overtime periods. The longest overtime played is 82 minutes and 40 seconds, in a December 25, 1971 AFC playoff game.