Template:12TeamBracket-NFL
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| AFC Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Super Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFC Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
 | This template employs intricate features of template syntax.
You are encouraged to familiarise yourself with its setup and parser functions before editing the template. If your edit causes unexpected problems, please undo it quickly, as this template may appear on a large number of pages. You can conduct experiments, and should test all major changes, in either this template's sandbox, the general template sandbox, or your user space before changing anything here. |
This template is to generate a tournament bracket for the 12-team NFL playoffs, which began with the 1990 season. It is loosely based on Template:Round16 and its variations, with many modifications for the peculiar nature of the NFL playoffs. Changes in the format for the Arena Football League playoffs make it usable to portray the brackets there as well.
Re-seeding
The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system. The number 1 seed will host the lowest surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5 or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4 or 5). See Current NFL Playoff system for more information.
Because of the 're-bracketing' done after the first round, second round match-ups are not determined until the 3/6-seed games in the Wild Card Round are completed. This template will render dotted lines connecting the Wild Card winners to the Divisional round until at least one Divisional visiting team seed number is filled in for that conference, at which point the lines become solid. If either conference shows dotted lines, there is also a note at the bottom of the template that explains the re-bracketing process.
It is recommended to show the initial pairings under the assumption that the home team wins every game. During the course of the playoffs, if the team with the best seed in a round for a particular conference loses, the games for that conference in that round (and preceding rounds if any) need to be "flipped" to show the new pairings:
6 5 6 3 4 4 3 6 2 2 1 6 5 6 5 4 3 6 4 4 2 1 1 2
Super Bowl "home" team
The Super Bowl is played at a neutral site. The conference champions take turns being designated the 'home' team for the purposes of uniform selection and coin toss. This template assumes that the NFC champion will be the 'home' team in the Super Bowl, which is correct when played in odd-numbered bowls/years (XXXIX:2005, XLI:2007), so that the AFC is shown on top and the NFC on bottom. In even-numbered bowls/years (XL:2006, XLII:2008), this needs to be overridden; use the named parameters G1=NFC and G2=AFC. For use with the Arena Football League, the parameters League=AFL, G1=American, G2=National (or vice versa), RD2=Quarterfinals, and RD4=Arena Bowl __ should be used
Generic bracket example
The following is a generic bracket example: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
| Jan. 4/5 - TBD | Jan. 11/12 - TBD | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jan. 18 - TBD | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| See Re-seeding below | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 4/5 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 11/12 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Feb. 2 - TBD | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 4/5 - TBD | NFC | |||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 11/12 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Super Bowl | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jan. 18 - TBD | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| See Re-seeding below | ||||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 4/5 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 11/12 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
- Re-seeding: Home field is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket system. The outcome of the games between the sixth and third seeds in each conference determine where the Wild Card winners will play in the next round. When a third seed wins, they next travel to the second seed. When the sixth seed wins, they travel to the first seed. The winner between the fifth and fourth seeds will play the remaining second round host team in that conference.
- Conference Championship home field goes to the higher seed remaining.
</syntaxhighlight>
| Jan. 4/5 - TBD | Jan. 11/12 - TBD | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jan. 18 - TBD | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| See Re-seeding below | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 4/5 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 11/12 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Feb. 2 - TBD | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 4/5 - TBD | NFC | |||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 11/12 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Super Bowl | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jan. 18 - TBD | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| See Re-seeding below | ||||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 4/5 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 11/12 - TBD | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
- Re-seeding: Home field is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket system. The outcome of the games between the sixth and third seeds in each conference determine where the Wild Card winners will play in the next round. When a third seed wins, they next travel to the second seed. When the sixth seed wins, they travel to the first seed. The winner between the fifth and fourth seeds will play the remaining second round host team in that conference.
- Conference Championship home field goes to the higher seed remaining.
Filled Bracket Example
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
| Jan. 8 - Giants Stadium | Jan. 15 - Soldier Field | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Carolina | 23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Carolina | 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | N.Y. Giants | 0 | Jan. 22 - Qwest Field | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 7 - Raymond James Stadium | 5 | Carolina | 14 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan. 14 - Qwest Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Washington | 17 | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Washington | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Tampa Bay | 10 | Feb. 5 - Ford Field | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 8 - Paul Brown Stadium | N1 | Seattle | 10 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan. 15 - RCA Dome | ||||||||||||||||||
| A6 | Pittsburgh | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Pittsburgh | 31 | Super Bowl XL | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Pittsburgh | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Cincinnati | 17 | Jan. 22 - INVESCO Field | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Indianapolis | 18 | ||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 7 - Gillette Stadium | 6 | Pittsburgh | 34 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan. 14 - INVESCO Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Denver | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Jacksonville | 3 | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | New England | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | New England | 28 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Denver | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
</syntaxhighlight>
| Jan. 8 - Giants Stadium | Jan. 15 - Soldier Field | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Carolina | 23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Carolina | 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | N.Y. Giants | 0 | Jan. 22 - Qwest Field | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 7 - Raymond James Stadium | 5 | Carolina | 14 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan. 14 - Qwest Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Washington | 17 | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Washington | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Tampa Bay | 10 | Feb. 5 - Ford Field | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 8 - Paul Brown Stadium | N1 | Seattle | 10 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan. 15 - RCA Dome | ||||||||||||||||||
| A6 | Pittsburgh | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Pittsburgh | 31 | Super Bowl XL | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Pittsburgh | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Cincinnati | 17 | Jan. 22 - INVESCO Field | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Indianapolis | 18 | ||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan. 7 - Gillette Stadium | 6 | Pittsburgh | 34 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan. 14 - INVESCO Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Denver | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Jacksonville | 3 | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | New England | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | New England | 28 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Denver | 27 | ||||||||||||||||