A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff or play-in game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a post-season tournament. Such a playoff is either a single game or a short series of games (such as best-2-of-3).
This is distinguished from the more general usage of the term "playoff", which refers to the post-season tournament itself.
NFL one game playoffs[]
Home teams in bold.
| Year | Division* | Winning Team | Losing Team | Score | Championship Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | West | Chicago Bears | Green Bay Packers | 33-14 | Bears defeated the New York Giants, 37-9 |
| 1943 | East | Washington Redskins | New York Giants | 28-0 | Redskins lost to the Chicago Bears, 41-21 |
| 1947 | East | Philadelphia Eagles | Pittsburgh Steelers | 21-0 | Eagles lost to the Chicago Cardinals, 28-21 |
| 1950 | American | Cleveland Browns | New York Giants | 8-3 | Browns defeated the Rams, 30-28 |
| National | Los Angeles Rams | Chicago Bears | 24-14 | ||
| 1952 | National | Detroit Lions | Los Angeles Rams | 31-21 | Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns, 17-7 |
| 1957 | West | Detroit Lions | San Francisco 49ers | 31-27 | Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns, 59-14 |
| 1958 | East | New York Giants | Cleveland Browns | 10-0 | Giants lost to the Baltimore Colts, 23-17 (OT) |
| 1965 | West | Green Bay Packers | Baltimore Colts | 13-10 (OT) | Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns, 23-12 |
*During the time that tie-breaker games were in use, NFL teams were grouped into both "Divisions" (from 1933-1949), and "Conferences" (1950 and later).
AFL one game playoffs[]
Home team in bold.
| Year | Division | Winning Team | Losing Team | Score | Championship Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | East | Boston Patriots | Buffalo Bills | 26-8 | Patriots lost to the San Diego Chargers, 51-10 |
| 1968 | West | Oakland Raiders | Kansas City Chiefs | 41-6 | Raiders lost to the New York Jets, 27-23 |
AAFC one game playoff[]
Home team in bold.
| Year | Division | Winning Team | Losing Team | Score | Championship Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | East | Buffalo Bills* | Baltimore Colts* | 28-17 | Bills lost to the Cleveland Browns, 49-7 |
*Not to be confused with the modern day Buffalo Bills. The modern-day Indianapolis Colts joined the NFL after the AAFC team folded.