NFL Playoff Pick’em
An NFL playoff pick’em covers the 13 games from Wild Card weekend to the Super Bowl. It is shorter and sharper than a regular-season pool: six games in the first round, four in the divisional round, two conference championships and the Super Bowl. Fewer games means every pick counts more, and the best formats give later rounds more weight. Here is how playoff pick’em works, the scoring options that make it fair, and how to run one for your group in January.
Playoff pick’em format
The playoffs have 14 teams, seven per conference. The top seed in each conference has a bye in the Wild Card round.
- Wild Card round: 6 games, Saturday to Monday.
- Divisional round: 4 games.
- Conference championships: 2 games.
- Super Bowl: 1 game.
That is 13 games in total. A playoff pool picks round by round, because you do not know the divisional matchups until Wild Card weekend is over.
Scoring options
Round by round, weighted
The most popular playoff format. Correct picks are worth more each round: 1 point in the Wild Card round, 2 in the divisional round, 4 for the conference championships, 8 for the Super Bowl. A perfect run is 6 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 30. Weighting keeps everyone alive until the Super Bowl and rewards being right when it matters.
Round by round, flat
One point per correct pick in every round. Simple, but the pool is usually decided by Wild Card weekend and the last three games barely matter.
Bracket
Fill in the whole bracket before the Wild Card round, like March Madness. Picks in later rounds only count if the team you picked is actually there. Fun, but one Wild Card upset can wipe out a bracket.
Confidence by round
Rank the games inside each round: 6 to 1 in the Wild Card round, 4 to 1 in the divisional round, 2 to 1 for the championships. Adds skill without needing a bracket.
Against the spread
Playoff lines are sharp and the games are close, so spread picks are tough. Best for experienced groups.
Rules to settle before Wild Card weekend
- Format and point values per round, written down.
- Lock rule: each game at kickoff, or the round at its first kickoff.
- Tiebreaker: total points in the Super Bowl is the classic. Some pools add a Super Bowl MVP pick.
- Whether a player who misses a round can continue. Usually yes, scoring zero for that round.
- Whether new members can join after the first round. Usually no.
Playoff pick’em strategy
- Home teams in the Wild Card round. The higher seed is at home and usually the better team. Straight up, home favorites in the Wild Card round win more often than not.
- Do not overthink the bye teams. The top seeds are rested and at home in the divisional round. They are favorites for a reason.
- Weighted scoring changes everything. If the Super Bowl is worth 8, one game can flip the pool. Pick the Super Bowl by the number, not by the story.
- In bracket pools, take the chalk early. A bracket lives or dies on Wild Card weekend. Upsets in round one destroy more brackets than they help.
Run a playoff pool
The regular-season pools on this site end at Week 18, and the same weekly pages list every playoff game with kickoff times and lines as the bracket is set. Round-by-round playoff pools with weighted scoring are on the roadmap for the site; until then, the free printable sheets cover each playoff round on paper, and a regular pick’em pool can score the Wild Card round as a normal week. Check the weekly games page in January for the playoff schedule.
NFL playoff pick’em questions
How many games are in the NFL playoffs?
Thirteen: six Wild Card, four divisional, two conference championships and the Super Bowl.
What is the best scoring for a playoff pool?
Weighted round by round, 1-2-4-8. It keeps everyone alive and makes the Super Bowl matter.
When do playoff picks lock?
Each game at kickoff, or the whole round at its first game. Wild Card weekend starts on Saturday, so pick by Saturday morning.
What is the tiebreaker?
Total points in the Super Bowl, closest guess wins. Add Super Bowl MVP as a second tiebreaker if you like.
Can I join after Wild Card weekend?
Most pools close entries before the first game. Late joiners would have an unfair advantage picking a smaller bracket.
Is a bracket better than round-by-round picks?
Brackets are more fun to fill out; round-by-round is fairer and keeps more players in it. Many groups run both.