How do AFC and NFC conference champions reach the Super Bowl?

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Jalen Hurts, wearing number 1 for the Philadelphia Eagles, winds up to throw a football during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII against the Kansas City Chiefs. — American football Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts during Super Bowl LVII, 2023; the team lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

To reach the Super Bowl, teams from the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC) must navigate a single-game elimination tournament.1

The process follows these steps:

Playoff Qualification: Fourteen teams—seven from each conference—qualify for the postseason based on their regular-season records. This includes the four division winners from each conference and three additional wild-card teams with the best remaining records.1
Wild Card Round: The second through seventh seeds in each conference compete in the wild card round. The top seed in each conference receives a bye, automatically advancing to the divisional round.1
Divisional Round: The winners of the wild card games join the top seeds. The top seed faces the lowest-seeded remaining team, while the other two winners face off.1
Conference Championship: The two remaining teams in each conference play a final game to determine the AFC and NFC champions.1

The winners of these two conference championship games then face each other in the Super Bowl to determine the NFL champion.1