The postseason for the 2026 NFL season begins with Wild Card Weekend on January 16-18, 2027. The Divisional Playoffs follow January 23-24, the AFC and NFC Championship Games are January 31, and Super Bowl LXI is February 14 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Those round dates are official. As of July 27, 2026, however, the playoff teams, matchups, game-level kickoff times and game-level TV assignments are still TBA. If your query is really ?what playoff game is on today,? use the live NFL games today page and confirm the channel in the NFL TV schedule once postseason assignments are published.
Official 2026-27 NFL Playoff Dates
The NFL?s 2026-27 important-dates calendar confirms the postseason windows below. The calendar is useful for planning weekends, but it is not yet a game-by-game television slate. The field cannot be set before the regular season determines division winners, wild cards and seeds.
| Round | Official date | Games | Teams, times and game-level TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card Weekend | January 16-18, 2027 | 6 | TBA |
| Divisional Playoffs | January 23-24, 2027 | 4 | TBA |
| AFC and NFC Championships | January 31, 2027 | 2 | TBA |
| Super Bowl LXI | February 14, 2027 | 1 | Teams, kickoff and game-level broadcast listing TBA |
This page does not fill empty fields with last season?s time slots or network order. Those patterns may look plausible but are not a substitute for a 2026-season assignment. The NFL schedule data status is the practical place to see when confirmed records have been added.
Why the 2026 NFL Playoffs Are Played in 2027
?2026 NFL playoffs? and ?2027 NFL playoffs? can describe the same postseason from different angles. The league names the competition for the regular season it concludes, while fans often search by the calendar year in which the playoff games occur.
- January 9-10, 2027: the 2026 NFL Week 18 schedule completes the regular season.
- January 16-18, 2027: the 2026 season?s postseason opens with Wild Card Weekend.
- February 14, 2027: Super Bowl LXI concludes the 2026 NFL season.
That distinction prevents a common search mistake. The playoffs played in January 2026 belonged to the 2025 season; the dates on this page belong to the 2026 season and occur in January-February 2027. The main 2026 NFL schedule provides the regular-season context leading into this postseason.
Wild Card Weekend: January 16-18, 2027
Wild Card Weekend spans Saturday through Monday and contains six games. Fourteen teams reach the postseason?seven from each conference?but the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the No. 1 seed in the NFC receive first-round byes. That leaves three opening-round games in each conference.
The date range is official; the individual slots are not yet assigned. The six participants pairings depend on the final seeds after Week 18. Specific Saturday, Sunday and Monday kickoff times and networks should remain TBA until the league publishes the postseason schedule.
When Wild Card Weekend arrives, do not rely on a months-old screenshot. Open today?s NFL games for the date you are watching, use NFL games tonight for the evening window and verify the network or platform on the TV schedule. That sequence answers the live search intent without confusing a calendar date with a confirmed broadcast listing.
The two first-round byes are important for reading the calendar. The AFC and NFC No. 1 seeds will not appear in any January 16-18 matchup, but they are still part of the 14-team field. A search result that shows seven games on Wild Card Weekend, or places a No. 1 seed in that round, is not following the current format. The six-game count is a useful quality check even before team names are available.
For ticket planning, the date range is not enough to choose a day. A qualifying team could be assigned to any applicable Wild Card slot once the field is set. Fans should wait for the league?s game-by-game release before buying a same-day flight or a nonrefundable hotel tied to Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
Divisional Playoffs: January 23-24, 2027
The Divisional round is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, January 23-24. Four games are played?two in the AFC and two in the NFC?and the two No. 1 seeds enter after their Wild Card byes.
NFL playoff matchups are reseeded. In each conference, the lowest remaining seed visits the highest remaining seed. Because of that rule, a future chart cannot safely lock a specific Wild Card winner into a particular Divisional opponent before the opening round ends. The full four-game card becomes knowable only after all six Wild Card results are final.
Kickoff order and television assignments are also TBA in this guide until official game listings are available. If plans depend on a particular date, use refundable travel and check the schedule changes page alongside the live listing.
Reseeding also changes how fans should read bracket graphics. The NFL does not use a fixed path in which the winner of one printed box always advances to a predetermined opponent. After the opening round, the lowest surviving seed faces the No. 1 seed. The other two survivors meet in the second conference game, with the higher seed hosting. A bracket can show the field, but the next matchup still depends on every relevant result.
That is why this schedule guide lists the official weekend before it lists participants. Once the Wild Card round ends, the live schedule can replace TBA with four real matchups without revising the underlying January 23-24 calendar.
AFC and NFC Championship Games: January 31, 2027
Both conference title games are scheduled for Sunday, January 31. One decides the AFC champion and one decides the NFC champion; the winners advance to Super Bowl LXI.
The participants and host stadiums depend on the Divisional results and surviving seeds. It is therefore premature to publish teams, cities, kickoff order or game-level TV channels. Last year?s order is not evidence for this season. Once the league assigns the two games, the current NFL TV schedule should be used for viewing details.
This article deliberately stops short of predicting the bracket. Seed forecasts and matchup probabilities answer a different question and can change every week. Here, the useful fixed point is the January 31 calendar date.
The same caution applies to home-field planning. A team can be alive in the postseason without being guaranteed to host the conference championship. Seeding and the identity of the other survivor determine the site. Supporters considering a trip should wait until the Divisional round is complete and the official championship listing names the venue.
Super Bowl LXI: February 14 at SoFi Stadium
Super Bowl LXI is officially scheduled for Sunday, February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Unlike the earlier rounds, the venue is predetermined rather than earned through seeding. The participating AFC and NFC champions will not be known until January 31.
The official important-dates calendar establishes the date and venue. It does not provide the participating teams or a game-level kickoff and broadcast listing in the source checked for this article. Those details are therefore marked TBA here until a season-specific NFL or broadcaster listing confirms them. That is safer than copying a customary Super Bowl time or a network rotation into a future schedule.
Travelers can plan around the city and date, but should still confirm event access, kickoff details and ticket terms later. Viewers can add the date to the NFL calendar and return to the live TV page when the broadcast listing is complete.
How to Find Today?s NFL Playoff Game, Time and TV Channel
A static round calendar answers ?which weekend?? It cannot always answer ?what is on right now?? Once postseason games are assigned, use this five-step check:
- Confirm the local date. A late ET game can fall on the next calendar day for international viewers.
- Open NFL games today. Verify the matchup and game status rather than trusting an old search snippet.
- Check kickoff timezone. Schedule listings commonly use ET; convert it before setting a reminder.
- Verify the network and platform. Use the NFL TV schedule, since a channel name and a streaming option are not always interchangeable.
- Check for a late update. Review schedule changes and the data timestamp before travel or kickoff.
If no game appears on a Tuesday or during the bye week before the Super Bowl, that may be correct. ?NFL playoff schedule today? does not guarantee that a playoff game is being played on the date of the search. The live page should say what the calendar actually supports.
For a watch party, perform the check twice: once when invitations go out and again on game day. Record the timezone beside the kickoff, confirm whether the listed service requires a television provider or separate subscription, and avoid using a prior round?s channel as a shortcut. The matchup card should be the final source for the specific game.
What Is Still TBA?and When Does It Become Official?
The postseason reveals itself in stages. Treating every field as equally knowable creates bad schedules; the better approach is to match each detail to the event that determines it.
| Information | When it becomes knowable |
|---|---|
| Round dates | Already confirmed on the NFL calendar |
| 14 playoff teams and seeds | After the regular season is complete |
| Wild Card matchups and slots | After Week 18 and the official assignment |
| Divisional matchups | After Wild Card results and reseeding |
| Conference championship matchups | After Divisional results |
| Super Bowl participants | After both conference championships |
Kickoff times and networks should be considered confirmed only when they appear in current official or live schedule listings. Fans purchasing travel before the field is set should prioritize flexible reservations. Fans watching at home should recheck on game day, especially if a search result was published months earlier.
There is one more gap between ?known? and ?final?: a matchup can be determined on the field before every public schedule feed refreshes. During that interval, do not infer a slot from bracket position. Wait for the official assignment, then make sure the date, ET kickoff and broadcaster agree across the current listing. This prevents a correct pair of teams from being attached to the wrong viewing information.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the 2026 NFL playoffs start?
The postseason starts with Wild Card Weekend on January 16-18, 2027, after Week 18 concludes January 9-10.
Are these the 2026 playoffs or the 2027 playoffs?
Both labels appear in searches. They are the playoffs for the 2026 NFL season, played during January and February 2027.
What are the 2027 Wild Card Weekend dates?
The official window is Saturday, January 16 through Monday, January 18, 2027. Individual matchups, times and TV assignments are TBA.
When are the AFC and NFC Championship Games?
Both conference championship games are scheduled for Sunday, January 31, 2027.
When and where is Super Bowl LXI?
Super Bowl LXI is scheduled for February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Are 2026-27 playoff kickoff times and TV channels announced?
Not at the game level as of July 27, 2026. The round dates are official, but teams, matchups, kickoff times and individual broadcast listings remain TBA in this guide.
Where can I find the NFL playoff schedule today?
Use NFL games today, then confirm the channel in the TV schedule and review any schedule updates.
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