What is the first step in an NFL division tie?

Head-to-head. For two clubs in the same division with the same won-lost-tied percentage, the club with the better record in games between them wins the tie. The list continues through division record, common games, conference record, and a coin toss only if every earlier step is still tied.

How is a wild-card tie different?

Clubs in the same division still use the division list. Clubs in different divisions start with head-to-head only if they played, then conference record, then common games if they have at least four. Point differential in conference games appears in the wild-card list. The division list uses point differential in common games instead.

Can a wild card be seeded ahead of a division winner?

No. The four division winners are seeds 1 through 4. A wild card is seeded 5, 6, or 7 even if its record is better than a division winner's. Home-field order among the division winners uses the wild-card tiebreakers.

Does The Bracket Maker apply these tiebreakers?

No. The playoff picture, wild card bracket, and 2027 bracket order teams by win percentage, then wins, then point differential, then points scored, then name. They do not apply head-to-head or the rest of the NFL list.

Where is the official procedure?

The NFL publishes the full division, wild-card, and draft-order procedures on its tiebreaking procedures page. This page covers division titles and wild-card spots. It does not restate the draft order.

NFL Playoff Tiebreakers

NFL playoff tiebreakers are the ordered steps the league uses when clubs finish with the same won-lost-tied percentage. Division titles and wild-card spots use different lists.

Both lists apply at the end of the regular season, and only to clubs that finished with the same won-lost-tied percentage. A step that can separate one club does so. Clubs that remain tied go back to an earlier step. The exceptions are under each list.

A tie counts as half a win and half a loss for both clubs in every won-lost-tied percentage below. The steps below follow the NFL's tiebreaking procedures. That page also covers draft order. This page does not.

Division tiebreakers

Use this list when two or more clubs in the same division finish the regular season with the same won-lost-tied percentage, and you still need a division champion.

Two clubs

Head-to-head: the better won-lost-tied percentage in games between the two clubs.
Division record: the better won-lost-tied percentage in games inside the division.
Common games: the better won-lost-tied percentage against shared opponents. Compare the percentage, not the raw win total, because the clubs may have played a different number of those games.
Conference record: the better won-lost-tied percentage in conference games.
Strength of victory: the combined winning percentage of the opponents the club has beaten.
Strength of schedule: the combined winning percentage of every opponent the club has played.
Best combined ranking in points scored and points allowed among the 16 conference teams. Add the two rank numbers. The lower sum wins.
The same combined points ranking, measured against all 32 clubs.
Point differential (the NFL's net points) in common games.
Point differential in all games.
Net touchdowns in all games.
Coin toss.

Three or more clubs

For three or more clubs tied in one division, walk the same twelve steps. Head-to-head is the won-lost-tied percentage in games among all of the tied clubs, not a requirement that one club swept the others.

If a step leaves exactly two clubs, stop and start over at step 1 of the two-club division list. If a step drops a group of four or more down to three clubs, start over at step 1 of the three-club division list.

Wild card tiebreakers

Use the wild-card list to choose the three wild cards in a conference. If the tied clubs are in the same division, use the division list instead.

Two clubs from different divisions

Head-to-head, only if the two clubs played. If they did not play, skip this step.
Conference record.
Common games, and only when they have at least four common games.
Strength of victory in all games.
Strength of schedule in all games.
Best combined ranking in points scored and points allowed among conference teams. The lower sum of the two ranks wins.
The same combined points ranking against all 32 clubs.
Point differential in conference games.
Point differential in all games.
Net touchdowns in all games.
Coin toss.

Three or more clubs

For three or more wild-card clubs from more than one division, reduce the group before comparing them across divisions.

Apply the division tiebreaker inside each division and keep only that division's highest-ranked club. That division order stays fixed if you run the procedure again for the next wild card.
Head-to-head sweep only. It counts when one club beat every other club still tied, or when one club lost to every other club still tied. A split result does not count.
Conference record.
Common games, minimum of four.
Strength of victory in all games.
Strength of schedule in all games.
Best combined ranking in points scored and points allowed among conference teams.
The same combined points ranking against all 32 clubs.
Point differential in conference games.
Point differential in all games.
Net touchdowns in all games.
Coin toss.

If a step leaves exactly two clubs, start over at step 1 of the two-club wild-card list. If a step eliminates one club from a group of four or more and three remain, start over at step 2 of this multi-club list (the sweep), not at the division-reduction step.

After the first wild card is named, repeat the procedure for the second wild card, then the third. Each time, keep only the highest remaining club from each division before the sweep step. When three clubs from the same division are in the group, their original division order stays in place for those later passes if that division's top club takes a wild-card spot.

Strength of victory and point ranks

Strength of victory is the combined winning percentage of the opponents a club has beaten. Strength of schedule is the combined winning percentage of every opponent that club has played. The higher percentage wins that step.

Combined ranking adds a club's place in points scored to its place in points allowed. A club that ranks 1st in points scored and 2nd in points allowed has a sum of 3, which beats a club that ranks 3rd in points scored and 1st in points allowed (sum of 4). If two clubs tie for a rank, both receive that rank, and the next club keeps the number it would have held anyway. Two clubs tied for 1st in points scored are each ranked 1, and the next club is ranked 3.

Seeds and home field

Home-field order among the four division winners uses the wild-card tiebreakers. Those four winners are seeds 1 through 4. A wild card is not seeded above a division winner, even with a better record.
Home-field order among wild-card clubs uses the division tiebreakers when they share a division, and the wild-card tiebreakers when they do not.

The opening games that those seeds create are fixed: the 1 seed has a bye, then 2 hosts 7, 3 hosts 6, and 4 hosts 5. See them on the wild card bracket.

How this site orders seeds

The Bracket Maker does not apply the NFL list. Seeds on this site are ordered by win percentage (a tie counts as half a win), then wins, then point differential, then points scored, then team name. Head-to-head, division record, conference record, common games, strength of victory, and strength of schedule are not used, so the order can differ from the official NFL seeding.

Read the current order on the NFL playoff picture, print the pairings from the wild card bracket, or fill in the 2027 NFL playoff bracket. The NFL bracket maker starts from the same seeds and lets you rename any team.

FAQ

What is the first step in an NFL division tie?: Head-to-head. For two clubs in the same division with the same won-lost-tied percentage, the club with the better record in games between them wins the tie. The list continues through division record, common games, conference record, and a coin toss only if every earlier step is still tied.
How is a wild-card tie different?: Clubs in the same division still use the division list. Clubs in different divisions start with head-to-head only if they played, then conference record, then common games if they have at least four. Point differential in conference games appears in the wild-card list. The division list uses point differential in common games instead.
Can a wild card be seeded ahead of a division winner?: No. The four division winners are seeds 1 through 4. A wild card is seeded 5, 6, or 7 even if its record is better than a division winner's. Home-field order among the division winners uses the wild-card tiebreakers.
Does The Bracket Maker apply these tiebreakers?: No. The playoff picture, wild card bracket, and 2027 bracket order teams by win percentage, then wins, then point differential, then points scored, then name. They do not apply head-to-head or the rest of the NFL list.
Where is the official procedure?: The NFL publishes the full division, wild-card, and draft-order procedures on its tiebreaking procedures page. This page covers division titles and wild-card spots. It does not restate the draft order.