At the end of the regular season, each conference holds separate playoff games to determine the conference champion. The top team in each division automatically qualifies for the conference playoffs and is ranked number one through three based on its win-loss record. Three additional teams, called wild cards, also qualify for playoff berths based on their win-loss record in the conference. During the first round of the playoffs, the lowest-ranked wild-card team plays the lowest-ranked division champion, while the other two wild-card teams play each other. The losers are eliminated and the winner of each game advances to play one of the remaining division champions in the semifinals. Semifinal winners advance to the conference finals, and the winner of that game is declared the conference champion.
The Vince Lombardi Trophy Members of the Dallas Cowboys football team hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy after their victory in Super Bowl XXX. Named in honor of former Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi, the sterling silver trophy is awarded annually to the winners of the National Football League's championship. Joe Traver/Liaison Agency
The Super Bowl is the final contest of the NFL’s season. Held each January, it pits the AFC and NFC champions against each other. The Super Bowl reaches hundreds of millions of viewers around the world. The first Super Bowl took place in 1967, when there were actually two separate football leagues, the NFL and the American Football League (AFL). In this game, the Green Bay Packers of the NFL defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL in what was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The game was renamed the Super Bowl in 1969.