How do teams get to the Super Bowl? NFL playoff picture and road to New Orleans as sides aim to reach iconic event
The Super Bowl is one of the most famous events in sport with the NFL's best teams competing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
This year will see Super Bowl LIX take centre stage, and it will be as highly anticipated as ever when the players step out onto the field at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
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The Kansas City Chiefs won their second consecutive world title in the 58th edition of the game, and now they're eyeing a third straight.
The Chiefs have reached the Conference Championship game once again and will take on the Buffalo Bills for AFC glory.
The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Washington Commanders for the NFC title, with both games live on the talkSPORT network.
How do teams get to the Super Bowl?
In the NFL, 32 teams are separated into two conferences.
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And within those conferences, they are split into four divisions consisting of four teams.
They are the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC), with each conference split into North, South, East and West divisions.
After 17 games, the regular season comes to an end.
The teams with the best record in each division will qualify for the playoffs as well as three wildcard teams from each conference.
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This means that a total of 14 teams progress from the regular season onto the road to the Super Bowl.
Each side will be seeded based on their record from the campaign.
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Super Wildcard Weekend
The playoffs then begin with the wild card round.
12 of the 14 teams that qualify for the Playoffs have to compete in all three rounds, but the top seeds from each conference receive a bye through this one.
The seedings of the 12 teams taking part determine the matches and three teams from each conference will progress through.
Divisional round
The highest-seeded teams then enter the playoffs in the divisional round.
So with those two teams joining the six that made it through the Wildcard Weekend, it makes up eight teams at this stage.
The highest-ranked side will take on the lowest-ranked team left in their conference and so on.
Conference championship round
Once the divisional round is complete, there are four teams left - two from each conference.
The teams from the same conference then face off in a huge championship clash where the highest-ranked team gets home advantage.
This determines the AFC and NFC champions.
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Super Bowl
The AFC and NFC champions then face each other in the Super Bowl.
And they compete to decide who will lift the famous Vince Lombardi Trophy.
This year, it will take place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
talkSPORT will live coverage of the 59th Super Bowl.
We will have commentary of all the action from New Orleans while marvelbet369.com will keep you up to date with all the latest.
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Playoff picture this year
So, now that's all explained, here's how the playoff picture looks ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl.
The Chiefs clinched top seed in the AFC conference while Detroit Lions topped the NFC.
The other division winners were the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams.
And the wild card teams this season were the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos.
Wildcard Round
January 11
- Baltimore Ravens 28-14 Pittsburgh Steelers
- Houston Texans 32-12 LA Chargers
January 12
- Buffalo Bills 31-7 Denver Broncos
- Washington Commanders 23-20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Green Bay Packers 10-22 Philadelphia Eagles
January 13
- Minnesota Vikings 9-27 LA Rams
Divisional Round
January 18
- Houston Texans 14-23 Kansas City Chiefs
- Washington Commanders 45-31 Detroit Lions
January 19
- LA Rams 22-28 Philadelphia Eagles
- Baltimore Ravens 27-25 Buffalo Bills
Conference Championships
January 26
AFC Championship
- Kansas City Chiefs vs Buffalo Bills - 23:30 - LIVE on talkSPORT 2
NFC Championship
- Philadelphia Eagles vs Washington Commanders - 20:00 - LIVE on talkSPORT 2
Pro Bowl Games 2025
- February 2 - Camping World Stadium, Orlando
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Super Bowl
- February 9 - AFC Champions v NFC Champions
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