2016–17 NFL playoffs
| Dates | January 7 – February 5, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2016 | ||||
| Teams | 12 | ||||
| Games played | 11 | ||||
| Super Bowl LI site | |||||
| Defending champions |
Denver Broncos (did not qualify) |
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| Champions | New England Patriots | ||||
| Runners-up | Atlanta Falcons | ||||
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The National Football League playoffs for the 2016 NFL season began on Saturday, January 7, 2017. The postseason tournament concluded on Sunday, February 5, 2017, with Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Within each conference, the four division winners and the two wild card teams (the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1 through 4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5 and 6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference then receive a bye in the first round. In the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst 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). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the fourth and final round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.
Source:
All playoffs games will be televised nationally on network television.
ABC simulcasted one AFC Wild Card game with ESPN. One NFC Wild Card game was broadcast on NBC. Coverage of the remainder of the AFC playoff games was split between CBS and NBC, while the remainder of the NFC playoff games was broadcast by Fox. CBS had exclusive coverage of the AFC Championship Game. Fox had exclusive coverage of the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LI.
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