How does the NFL Wild Card round work? Format and scheduling details for 2024 postseason

The NFL has reached its postseason and the pretenders have finally been separated from the contenders. 14 teams remain in the race for the biggest prize in football.

Before the playoffs begin, let's examine how the Wild Card round works and the formatting and scheduling for the 2024 postseason.

How does the NFL Wild Card round work?

The Wild Card round is the first stage of the playoffs, in which six teams in each conference compete to qualify for the divisional round. The number one seeded team is exempt from the Wild Card round, as it gets a bye to the divisional round.

Each divisional champion (East, West, North and South) will get home-field advantage in the Wild Card round. The three best-placed teams from the rest of the conference will visit them, as they've qualified via the wild card slots.

The second-placed team in the conference will go against the seventh, the third-placed team will play against the sixth and the fourth will clash against the fifth. The winners of these fixtures will proceed to the divisional round games.

What's the 2024 NFL Wild Card round schedule?

Here's a look at the 2025 NFL Wild Card round schedule for both conferences:

AFC Wild Card round schedule

• No. 2 Buffalo Bills versus the No. 7 Denver Broncos
• No. 3 Baltimore Ravens versus the No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers
• No. 4 Houston Texans versus the No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers

NFC Wild Card round schedule

• No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles versus the No. 7 Green Bay Packers
• No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus the No. 6 Washington Commanders
• No. 4 Los Angeles Rams versus the No. 5 Minnesota Vikings

The Kansas City Chiefs will join the AFC wild card round game winners in the divisional round, while the Detroit Lions will join the winners of the NFC wild card round games.

Here's a look at the rest of the playoff schedule:

• Divisional round games: January 18-19, 2025
• Conference championship games: January 26, 2025
• Super Bowl 59: February 9, 2025