NFL Playoffs 2018: Overtime Rules, Bracket and Postseason Format

HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: James White #28 of the New England Patriots takes the handoff from Tom Brady #12 against the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The Patriots defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Focus On Sport/Getty Images

Super Bowl LI marked the first time that an NFL championship game went to overtime since 1958, when the Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants in "The Greatest Game Ever Played."

Chances are that we won't see overtime in the Super Bowl again this year, but the NFL playoffs have featured some classic games that weren't decided after just 60 minutes. It's not that uncommon to see at least one overtime game at some point in the playoffs.

Therefore, it may help to provide a refresher on the overtime rules before the postseason begins Saturday. And if you're unfamiliar with how the NFL postseason is structured, you can find notes on that below alongside this year's bracket.

Postseason Format

Twelve of the NFL's 32 teams make the playoffs each year. Six teams represent the American Football Conference, while another six do the same for the National Football Conference.

Each conference has four divisions (East, North, South, West). The winner of each division automatically advances to the playoffs, while the two best non-division-winning teams in each conference also make the postseason as wild-card teams.

The teams are then seeded No. 1 through No. 6 in the AFC and NFC. The division winners populate the No. 1 through No. 4 seeds, with the team with the best record taking first, the team with the second-best record filling the second seed and so on. The best wild-card team finishes fifth, while the other takes sixth.

The top two seeds receive byes past the first round, otherwise known as the wild-card round. On that level, the third seed in each conference hosts the sixth seed, while the fourth seed plays at home against the fifth seed. The same rule for home field in the wild-card round applies to all other rounds: The team with the better seed is always the home team.

Once the wild-card games are complete, the lowest seed left travels to face No. 1 in the divisional round, while the highest seed in the draw faces the second seed. The divisional winners face off in the conference championship games, and then those winners meet in the Super Bowl.

NFL Playoff Bracket

Wild-Card Round

Saturday, 4:35 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC: No. 5 Tennessee Titans at No. 4 Kansas City Chiefs

Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC: No. 6 Atlanta Falcons at No. 3 Los Angeles Rams

Sunday, 1:05 p.m. ET on CBS: No. 6 Buffalo Bills at No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET on Fox: No. 5 Carolina Panthers at No. 4 New Orleans Saints

Divisional Round

Saturday, January 13, at 4:35 p.m. ET on NBC: Lowest-seeded NFC wild-card team remaining (New Orleans, Carolina or Atlanta) at Philadelphia Eagles

Saturday, January 13, at 8:15 p.m. ET on CBS: Lowest-seeded AFC wild-card team remaining (Kansas City, Tennessee or Buffalo) at New England Patriots

Sunday, January 14, at 1:05 p.m. ET on CBS: Highest-seeded AFC wild-card team remaining (Jacksonville, Kansas City or Tennessee) at Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday, January 14, at 4:40 p.m. ET on Fox: Highest-seeded NFC wild-card team remaining (Los Angeles, New Orleans or Carolina) at Minnesota Vikings

Conference Championships

Sunday, January 21, at 3:05 p.m. ET: AFC Championship on CBS (Lowest-seeded AFC team at highest-seeded AFC team)

Sunday, January 21, at 6:40 p.m. ET: NFC Championship on Fox (Lowest-seeded NFC team at highest-seeded NFC team)

Super Bowl LII

Sunday, February 4, at 6:30 p.m. ET: AFC champion vs. NFC champion

Overtime Rules

The extra period kicks off with a coin flip to determine possession. However, both teams get a chance to possess the ball in a 10-minute overtime period unless the receiving team scores a touchdown on its first drive. If that team gets a field goal or doesn't score at all, the other team will get a chance to meet (or exceed) the opposing team's overtime point total.

For example, let's say the Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints wild-card game on Sunday goes into OT. If the Saints get the ball first and kick a field goal, the Panthers will get the ball back on a kickoff.

If Carolina fails to score on its possession, New Orleans wins. But the Panthers win if they score a touchdown. If Carolina kicks a field goal as well, New Orleans gets the ball back, and the next team to score is the winner.

If time runs out in the 10-minute overtime, a new overtime period will begin (in the regular season, the game would end in a tie).

Another quirk involves turnovers. If the receiving team turns the ball over on its first possession, then sudden-death rules apply, and the next team to score wins. If the receiving team's turnover directly results in a touchdown, then the defending team wins.

These overtime rules last applied in the postseason at Super Bowl LI. The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons were tied at 28 after 60 minutes. The Pats won the coin toss and scored a touchdown on their opening drive, which ended the game.

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