The Super Bowl is one of the most famous events in sport with the NFL’s best teams competing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Next year will be the 59th Super Bowl, and it will be as highly-anticipated as ever when the players step out onto the field at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Kansas City Chiefs won their second consecutive world title in the 58th edition of the game, and now they’re eyeing a third straight.
But the Chiefs and all NFL teams have a long journey to reach the iconic match, so talkSPORT.com has taken a look at how each side makes their way to the big one…
How do teams get to the Super Bowl?
In the NFL, 32 teams are separated into two conferences and within those conferences, they are split into four divisions consisting of four teams.
They are the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC), with each conference split into North, South, East and West divisions.
After 17 games, the regular NFL season comes to an end.
The teams with the best record in each division will qualify for the playoffs as well as three wildcard teams from each conference.
This means that a total of 14 teams progress from the regular season onto the road to the Super Bowl, with each side seeded based on their record from the campaign.
Super Wildcard Weekend
The playoffs then begin with the wild card round.
12 of the 14 teams that qualify for the Playoffs have to compete in all three rounds, but the top seeds from each conference receive a bye through this one.
The seedings of the 12 teams taking part determine the matches and three teams from each conference will progress through.
Divisional round
The highest-seeded teams then enter the playoffs in the divisional round.
So with those two teams joining the six that made it through the Wildcard Weekend, it makes up eight teams at this stage.
The highest-ranked side will take on the lowest-ranked team left in their conference and so on.
Conference championship round
Once the divisional round is complete, there are four teams left – two from each conference.
The teams from the same conference then face off in a huge championship clash where the highest-ranked team gets home advantage.
This determines the AFC champions and the NFC champions.
Super Bowl
The AFC and NFC champions then face each other in the Super Bowl.
And they compete to decide who will lift the famous Vince Lombardi Trophy.
This year, it will take place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
talkSPORT will live coverage of the 59th Super Bowl.
We will have commentary of all the action from New Orleans while talkSPORT.com will keep you up to date with all the latest.
Playoff Picture
The current NFL season is still ongoing but some teams have already booked their place in this year’s Playoffs.
Reigning champions the Chiefs have claimed a place along with the Buffalo Bills in the AFC.
It means only five places remain in that conference while all seven places in the NFC are still up for grabs.
In the American Football Conference, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, LA Chargers, Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos are all in contention.
Meanwhile, in the National Football Conference, it’s the Detroit Lions on the cusp of qualifying along with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers are also closing in on reaching the Playoffs.
A few teams have already been eliminated from Playoff contention.
The New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants all cannot make the post-season.
Teams qualified for Playoffs
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Buffalo Bills
