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NFL Wild Card Playoff tiebreakers explained: What are the rules and how do they work?
With the Wild Card just around the corner, fans are getting interested in knowing about the playoff tiebreakers. Well, here's everything you need to know about it:
Houston Texas arrived as a new team in the NFL and to adjust the team, the league was realigned into 8 four-team divisions in 2002. With that realignment, the NFL also adopted certain new tie-breaking rules used for determining the playoff teams. With the Wild Card round just around the corner, let's understand the rules of Wild Card Playoff tiebreakers.
NFL Playoff Tiebreakers: Wild Card
In case, the situation arises where the ties need to break in order to determine the two Wild Card clubs per conference, here are the steps that need to be followed. Apply division tiebreaker if the ties are from the same division. In case, the two clubs are from different divisions, follow the steps below.
Two Clubs from the division
- If applicable, go for head-to-head
- Best won-lost-tied % in the games that are played within the conference
- Best won-lost-tied % in the common games i.e. a minimum of four
- Strength of schedule
- Strength of victory
- Best total ranking among the conference teams in terms of points allowed and points scored
- Best total rankings among all the teams in terms of points allowed and scored
- Best net points all all the games
- Best net points in the conference games
- Coin toss
- Best net touchdown in all the games
Three or more clubs from the division
In case, the two clubs still remain tied after the third club and others are eliminated, the tiebreaker gets back to the first step of the required two-club format. 
- Apply divisional tiebreaker in order to eliminate everyone but the highest ranked club in each of the divisions that is prior to the proceedings to the second step. The traditional seeding that is applicable during the time of division tiebreaker remains exactly the same for all the applications that come next for the procedure that is important to identify the 2 wild card participants.
- Head-to-head sweep. It's applicable only during the time when one club has defeated all the others or if one club has lost to all the others.
- Best tie-lost-won % in all the games that are played within the conference.
- Best tie-lost-won % in all the common games, in a minimum of four.
- Strength of schedule.
- Strength of victory.
- Best combined ranking compared to all the conference teams in teams of points allowed and points scored.
- Best combined ranking among all NFL teams, in terms of points allowed and points scored.
- Best net points in all the conference games
- Best net points in all the games
- Coin toss
- Best net touchdown in all the games
When the first team in the Wild Card is identified, the same procedure is repeated to name the second team in the Wild Card. To do that, all the teams are eliminated exactly the highest-ranked club in every division prior to the step 2 proceedings. In case three or more teams come from the same division, the original team seeding remains the same for all the applications coming by for the tiebreakers.
Important Tie-breaking rules
- In any tie-breaking step, only one club gets to advance into the playoffs. Raiming teams revert to the step one of the Wild Card tiebreakers.
- In comparison of conference records and divisional records, or records that are against the common opponents in the tied teams, the best tied-won-loss % is what will be the deciding factor since the teams might have played games that are unequal in number.
- Apply Wild Card tie breaks in case of determination of home-field priorities among the divisional finalists
- To figure out the home-field priorities for the qualities of the Wild Card, the divisional tiebreakers need to be applied.
Also Read: NFL playoffs bracket explained: Does NFL reseed after Wild Card Playoffs?
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