Wild Card Weekend for the 2026 NFL season begins on Saturday, January 16, 2027. The NFL announced the postseason calendar with its 2026 regular-season schedule, and six wild card games are scheduled — three in the AFC and three in the NFC. Everything below is split into what the league has confirmed and what has not been announced as of October 10, 2026.
Next confirmed date
NFL Wild Card Weekend
Saturday, January 16, 2027
- -- Days
- -- Hrs
- -- Min
- -- Sec
Kickoff times to be announced
Counting down to the start of that day in US Eastern time. The NFL sets kickoff times after the regular season.
What is confirmedConfirmed by the NFL
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Wild Card Weekend (six games) | Begins Saturday, January 16, 2027 |
| Divisional round (four games) | Saturday and Sunday, January 23–24, 2027 |
| AFC and NFC Championship Games | Sunday, January 31, 2027 |
| Super Bowl LXI, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles | Sunday, February 14, 2027 |
Fourteen teams reach the postseason, seven from each conference. The No. 1 seed in each conference receives a bye through Wild Card Weekend, so the other twelve teams play in this round. The pairings are fixed by seed: the No. 2 seed hosts the No. 7 seed, the No. 3 seed hosts the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 seed hosts the No. 5 seed.
Not announced yet
| Detail | Status | When it is normally known |
|---|---|---|
| The 14 playoff teams | To be announced | After the final week of the regular season |
| Seeds 1 through 7 in each conference | To be announced | After the final week of the regular season |
| AFC wild card matchups | To be announced | Once the seeds are final |
| NFC wild card matchups | To be announced | Once the seeds are final |
| Day and kickoff time of each game | To be announced | Announced by the NFL after the regular season |
| Network or streaming service per game | To be announced | Announced with the kickoff times |
Because the NFL seeds its bracket strictly by record and tiebreakers, none of these can be known in advance, and we will not fill them in from projections. When the league publishes them, this page is updated.
What happens after the wild card round
The NFL does not use a fixed bracket. In the divisional round the No. 1 seed hosts the lowest-seeded wild card winner, and the other two winners meet, with the higher seed hosting. Conference championship games are hosted by the higher remaining seed. Playoff games cannot end in a tie, so wild card games that are level after 60 minutes go to overtime under the postseason overtime rules.
If you want to understand how teams get into this round in the first place, see the NFL wild card format and how the wild card race is decided. For the most recent completed round, see the January 2026 wild card results.
Sources: NFL Football Operations (“2026 NFL Schedule Announced”); Wikipedia, “NFL playoffs”.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
When does NFL Wild Card Weekend start in January 2027?
Saturday, January 16, 2027. Six wild card games are scheduled, three in each conference.
Are the 2027 wild card matchups known yet?
No. The 14 playoff teams and their seeds are not set until the regular season ends, so every matchup is to be announced.
When and where is Super Bowl LXI?
Sunday, February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California.