The NFL playoff schedule is usually released in stages: the basic calendar is known well in advance, but the exact game times and matchups drop right after the regular season ends and Sunday Night Football in Week 18 wraps up.

Key timing in plain English

  • The NFL publishes the overall postseason calendar (Wild Card weekend dates, Divisional, Conference Championships, Super Bowl) months ahead, usually when or soon after the regular-season schedule comes out.
  • The full, detailed playoff schedule with specific matchups and kickoff times is finalized right after Week 18 finishes, once every seed and matchup is locked in. This is typically late Sunday night of Week 18.

What “schedule release” really means

When people ask “when will the NFL playoff schedule be released,” they’re usually mixing two things:

  1. Dates and rounds
    • Wild Card games: the weekend immediately after Week 18 (e.g., around January 10–12 in recent seasons).
 * Divisional round: the following weekend.

 * Conference championships: the next Sunday (often the last Sunday of January).

 * Super Bowl: second Sunday in February.
  1. Exact matchups and broadcast windows
    • Who plays in the Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, Sunday tripleheader, and Monday night slots is only set once the regular season is fully over and the league can see ratings-friendly matchups and travel situations.

So: you’ll know the dates long before, but you won’t know “49ers vs. Seahawks, Saturday 4:30 p.m. on NBC” until that Week 18 Sunday night.

Small “forum-style” take

On fan forums, the common answer is:
“You already kind of have the playoff schedule—look at the league’s postseason calendar. The part everyone waits for (who plays when and on what channel) gets dropped right after the last regular season game, usually during or immediately after Sunday Night Football in Week 18.”

Fans also note that popular teams often get the prime-time or standalone slots, which people watch for as soon as the schedule graphic hits social and TV.

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