Updated November 5, 2026
When two NFL teams finish the regular season with the same record, the league does not look at who "looks better." It runs a fixed list of tiebreakers, in order, until one team comes out ahead. Those steps decide division titles, wild-card spots and playoff seeding. This guide walks through the official procedures as NFL.com publishes them: the division tiebreaker, the wild-card tiebreaker, what happens with three or more teams, and how to read the less familiar steps such as strength of victory. Examples are hypothetical unless they name a real game.
Where the Rules Come From
The league's tiebreaking procedures on NFL.com are used "to break standings ties for postseason playoffs and to determine regular-season schedules." Two basics come first:
- Ties count as half. A tie game counts as one-half win and one-half loss for both clubs, so records are compared by won-lost-tied percentage. Our explainer on NFL overtime rules covers how a regular-season game can still end tied.
- Each conference sends seven teams. The four division winners are joined by three wild-card clubs from each conference, and the procedures have separate steps for each.
The Division Tiebreaker for Two Teams
If two clubs in the same division finish with identical records, NFL.com lists these steps, applied in order until one team wins:
- Head-to-head record in games between the two clubs
- Record in games within the division
- Record in common games
- Record in games within the conference
- Strength of victory in all games
- Strength of schedule in all games
- Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed
- Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed
- Best net points in common games
- Best net points in all games
- Best net touchdowns in all games
- Coin toss
Division rivals play each other twice under the NFL's scheduling formula, so a sweep settles the tie at step 1. A season split, one win each, sends it to step 2.
A Real Race to Watch: The 2026 NFC North
The NFC North shows why the order matters. Through Week 8, the NFL.com standings have Minnesota at 6-1, Chicago at 6-2, Detroit at 5-2 and Green Bay at 5-3, as we noted in our Week 8 takeaways. Detroit beat Minnesota 19-15 in Week 8, so the Lions hold the first of two head-to-head games. If the two finish tied and Minnesota wins the rematch, the head-to-head step is a 1-1 split and the tie moves to division record. If Detroit wins both, step 1 decides it. Minnesota's next game is Monday against Buffalo; our Bills vs. Vikings preview has the details.
The Wild-Card Tiebreaker for Teams From Different Divisions
If the tied clubs are from the same division, the division tiebreaker applies. If they are from different divisions, NFL.com lists a shorter path:
- Head-to-head, if applicable
- Record in games within the conference
- Record in common games, minimum of four
- Strength of victory
- Strength of schedule
- Combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and allowed
- Combined ranking among all teams in points scored and allowed
- Net points in conference games
- Net points in all games
- Net touchdowns in all games
- Coin toss
The big differences: division record is not a step, and common games count only with a minimum of four. Head-to-head only applies if the two teams played.
Three or More Teams Tied
With three or more clubs, the steps look similar, with two important rules from the NFL.com page:
- Restart when the group shrinks. If one club is eliminated and two remain tied, the tiebreaker goes back to step 1 of the two-club format. "Only one club advances to the playoffs in any tie-breaking step."
- Wild-card ties start inside divisions. When several wild-card contenders are tied, the division tiebreaker is first used to eliminate all but the highest-ranked club from each division. Head-to-head then only counts as a "sweep," meaning one club beat each of the others, or lost to each of them.
After the first wild card is identified, the process repeats for the second and third.
Strength of Victory, Strength of Schedule and Points Rankings
These steps rarely decide a race, but they sound confusing:
- Strength of victory is commonly calculated as the combined winning percentage of the teams a club beat. Beating good teams helps.
- Strength of schedule is commonly calculated as the combined winning percentage of all of a club's opponents, win or lose.
- Combined points ranking is spelled out on the NFL.com page: add a team's rank in points scored and its rank in points allowed, and the lowest total wins. In the league's own example, a team ranked first in points scored and second in points allowed has a combined ranking of 3, which beats a team ranked third and first, at 4.
The NFL.com page lists strength of victory and strength of schedule by name without a formula, so the definitions above are the standard usage rather than a quote from the league.
Seeding and Draft Order Use the Same Rules
The same procedures also set playoff seeding. Per NFL.com, home-field priority among division winners is decided with the wild-card tiebreakers, and among wild-card teams with the division or wild-card tiebreaker depending on whether they share a division. The page also has a separate procedure for ordering ties in the draft.
NFL Playoff Tiebreakers: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the first NFL tiebreaker?
Head-to-head record. For two teams in the same division, it is their record in games against each other. For wild-card ties between teams from different divisions, it applies only if they played.
Do ties count in NFL tiebreakers?
Yes. A tie counts as one-half win and one-half loss for both teams, and records are compared by won-lost-tied percentage.
Can an NFL tiebreaker come down to a coin toss?
Yes, in theory. A coin toss is the final step on the NFL's list for every tiebreaker format. It only applies if every earlier step, down to net touchdowns, fails to separate the teams.
Source: NFL.com tiebreaking procedures and standings, checked November 5, 2026.
