2011–12 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2011 season began on January 7, 2012. The postseason tournament concluded with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, 21–17, on February 5, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
| Dates | January 7–February 5, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2011 | ||||
| Teams | 12 | ||||
| Games played | 11 | ||||
| Super Bowl XLVI site |
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| Defending champions | Green Bay Packers | ||||
| Champions | New York Giants | ||||
| Runners-up | New England Patriots | ||||
| Conference runners-up | |||||
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The Houston Texans qualified the playoffs for the first time since entering the league in 2002, and the Detroit Lions qualified for the first time since 1999. The Buffalo Bills, who were eliminated from playoff contention for the twelfth straight year then, were the only team that had not made the playoffs in the 21st century (and would not do so again until 2017). This team was tied with the Lions for the overall longest failure streak entering the season (the Bills had also not made the playoffs since qualifying as a wild card in 1999 where they were defeated by the Tennessee Titans).
This was the first postseason since 2001–02 to not feature Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.
Both the conferences’ runners-up made the Super Bowl the next year, which Baltimore won, 34–31.
Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05)