how many games do nfl teams play

June 27, 2026

NFL teams play 17 regular-season games each year, plus up to 3 preseason games, and then playoffs if they qualify.

Quick Scoop: How many games do NFL teams play?

Regular season

Since 2021, every NFL team plays 17 regular-season games.
The league expanded from 16 to 17 games starting with the 2021 season, and that format is still in place through 2025.

Across the league, those 17 games per team add up to 272 total regular-season games (32 teams × 17 games ÷ 2, because two teams play in each game).

Preseason

Teams typically play 3 preseason games under the current format.

These games do not count toward the regular-season standings but are used to evaluate players and finalize rosters.

Playoffs

If you’re wondering about “how many games” including the postseason, it varies by team :

Teams that miss the playoffs:
- 17 regular-season games only.
Teams that make a Super Bowl run:
- Usually 3–4 playoff games (Wild Card, Divisional, Conference Championship, Super Bowl), depending on whether they had a first-round bye in older formats. In the current 14‑team playoff format, the number of games depends on seeding and path, but contenders can still add several more games beyond 17.

Simple breakdown table

html

<table>
  <tr>
    <th>Type of games</th>
    <th>Games per team</th>
    <th>Notes</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Regular season</td>
    <td>17</td>
    <td>Standard for all 32 teams since 2021[web:10]</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Preseason</td>
    <td>About 3</td>
    <td>Do not count toward standings[web:10]</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Playoffs</td>
    <td>0–4+ per team</td>
    <td>Only for qualifying teams; number depends on how far they advance[web:6]</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Quick TL;DR

Baseline answer to “how many games do NFL teams play?”
- 17 regular-season games per team each season.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.