There will be a "Toilet Bowl" bracket between the four teams that miss the playoffs. This is just for fun and pride with no awards earned. The losing team (I'll say it again: the losing team) advances each round until the ultimate loser is crowned.
The four division winners earn seeds 1-4, based on record and tiebreakers. The four wild card winners are seeded 5-8 based on points scored.
Seed 1 faces Seed 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, and 4 vs. 5.
Each week, playoffs are re-seeded so that the best seed always faces the lowest seed.
The playoffs begin during Week 15 of the NFL's regular season.
Eight teams make the playoffs each season. The four division winners, plus the next four-highest scoring teams, regardless of division.