When the 2021 NFL playoffs start, more teams than ever will have a chance to vie for a championship. An expanded field of 14 teams is set to compete in the postseason, beginning with Wild-Card Weekend and concluding with Super Bowl LV.

The first round of the playoffs is scheduled to start Saturday, Jan 9. Three wild-card games will take place that day, followed by three more Sunday, Jan. 10. The six winners will move on to the divisional round the following weekend.

Super Bowl LV is scheduled for Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Earning a No.1 seed has never been more important. The teams with the best record in the NFC and AFC have a first-round bye, automatically putting them in the second round.

In the previous 12-team playoff format, the top two seeds in each conference had a bye and advanced past Wild-Card Weekend without having to play a game. Three of the four home teams were defeated in the wild-card round of last year’s playoffs.

It’s been eight years since a team played in a wild-card game and reached the Super Bowl. The Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 as the AFC’s No.4 seed.

The last wild-card team to win the championship was the Green Bay Packers in the 2011 Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers, the eventually Super Bowl XLV MVP, led Green Bay to three straight road victories in the NFC playoffs.

The defending champion Kansas City Chiefs are favored to repeat and win a second straight title. Patrick Mahomes solidified his spot as the NFL’s best player by winning the Super Bowl LIV MVP award and leading the Chiefs to their first title in 50 years.

The New England Patriots were the last team to win consecutive Super Bowls, doing so in 2004 and 2005.

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Seattle Seahawks defense and Buffalo Bills offense during the second half at Bills Stadium on November 08, 2020 in Orchard Park, New York. Bryan Bennett/Getty Images
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