2005 NFL Playoff Bracket
AFC			NFL	NFC
Wild Card	Divisional Playoffs	Conference Championship	Super Bowl XL	Conference Championship	Divisional Playoffs	Wild Card

#5 Jacksonville

#5 Carolina

NE 19, JAX 13

#4 New England

#5 Carolina

Car 27, NYG 14

#4 New England

NE 10, DEN 3

CAR 18, SEA 7

#4 N.Y. Giants

#4 New England

#6 Pittsburgh

#5 Carolina

#2 Denver

PIT 30, NE 24 (ot)

PIT 24, CAR 12

#1 Seattle

#6 Pittsburgh

2005 Champs

#1 Indianapolis

#2 Chicago

#5 Carolina

#6 Pittsburgh

PIT 31, IND 3

#6 Pittsburgh

#2 Chicago

CHI 6, TB 0

#6 Washington

PIT 13, CIN 9

#6 Pittsburgh

#3 Tampa Bay

TB 16, WAS 9

#3 Cincinnati

#3 Tampa Bay

The NFL playoffs are not based on a pure bracket system. In the divisional playoffs, the No. 1 seed is assured of playing the lowest-seeded Wild Card survivor. There are no restrictions on intra-division games and the higher seed of any matchup will have home-field advantage.

AFC Tiebreakers

Cincinnati wins the AFC North over Pittsburgh with a better division record (5-1 to PIT's 4-2)

NFC Tiebreakers

Tampa Bay wins the NFC South over Carolina with a better division record (5-1 to 4-2)

Chicago earns the No. 2 seed over Tampa Bay with a better head-to-head record (CHI 1-0)

Tampa Bay earns the No. 3 seed over the N.Y. Giants with a better conference record (9-3 to 8-4)

Click here for the official tiebreaking procedures.

AFC Teams Eliminated

Baltimore (Week 13); Buffalo (Week 14); Cleveland (Week 13); Houston (Week 12); Kansas City (Week 17); Miami (Week 15); N.Y. Jets (Week 13); Oakland (Week 13); San Diego (Week 16); Tennessee (Week 13)

NFC Teams Eliminated

Atlanta (Week 16); Arizona (Week 14); Dallas (Week 17); Detroit (Week 14); Green Bay (Week 13); Minnesota (Week 16); New Orleans (Week 13); Philadelphia (Week 14); San Francisco (Week 12); St. Louis (Week 14)