NFL playoff picture: Bracket, schedule and format before Week 7

The NFL playoffs are still months away, but figuring out where the whole league stands with many teams more than one-third of the way through their 2024 season is a fun way to take stock of what's happened – and what's possible.

Would an AFC wild-card game between brothers Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh be of interest? How about an NFC Championship game rematch between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round on the other side of the bracket? Those would both be on the docket if the postseason started this week.

In the NFC, there's a couple two-loss teams that wouldn't make the playoffs as of now. In the AFC, the 2-4 Cincinnati Bengals are still very much in contention despite a slow start. That's how wide open the wild card field is beyond division leaders like the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.

Here's a complete breakdown of what the NFL playoff picture looks like in the NFC and AFC heading into Week 7 of the 2024 season:

NFL WEEK 7 GAME PICKS:Expert predictions for every matchup

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

All times Eastern

Saturday Jan. 11

Sunday Jan. 12

Monday Jan. 13

Saturday, Jan. 18

Sunday, Jan. 19

Sunday, Jan. 26

The NFL playoffs for the following the 2024 regular season will once again feature 14 teams total in a single-elimination format, with seven teams qualifying for the AFC bracket and seven teams qualifying from the NFC. The four division winners from each conference are automatically in the field as the top four seeds in the bracket, based on record and tiebreakers. The three wild-card spots in each conference are given to the three best non-division winners based on winning percentage and tiebreakers.

The top seed in each conference receives a bye to the divisional round of the playoffs. The other 12 teams play wild card games during Super Wild Card Weekend, with matchups determined by seeding and the higher seed serving as host. The No. 2 seed -- the division winner with the second-best record in each respective conference -- hosts the No. 7 seed. The No. 3 seed hosts the No. 6 and the No. 4 seed hosts the No. 5 seed. The loser of each game is eliminated.

The NFL then re-seeds the teams that advance to the divisional round of the postseason based on their regular-season records, with the No. 1 seed hosting the lowest-remaining seed. The other two wild-card game winners play in another divisional round game, with the higher seed serving as host. The winners in the divisional round advance to their respective conference championship game.

The AFC and NFC Championship games determine the two teams that will play in Super Bowl LIX and earn the right to lift the Lombardi Trophy as NFL champion.