How to Use playoff in a Sentence

playoff

1 of 2 noun

• In 2019, the Aces went to the playoffs and made the semifinals.
  — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2023
• The lottery teams are the 14 clubs that failed to make the playoffs.
  — Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 15 May 2023
• But Jackson is 2–4 in the playoffs, and now 1–5 against the Chiefs.
  — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2024
• The top three teams in a five-team league like the Zeta will go to the playoffs.
  — Steve Fryer, Orange County Register, 2 Aug. 2024
• The coach recalled a goal-line stand at the end of a playoff game.
  — Thomas Lake, CNN, 12 July 2024
• The playoff berth this season was the team’s first under the coach.
  — Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 15 Feb. 2024
• In the past 25 years, the Cowboys have won just three playoff games.
  — Matt Young, Chron, 29 July 2022
• Most of them have to do with teams that could be in the playoff race, but not all of them.
  — Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 8 July 2022
• The Ducks never got to the gate, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
  — Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2023
• The win, New York's sixth in its past eight games, clinched a playoff spot.
  — Georgia News, ajc, 14 Aug. 2022
• Getting to the playoffs will be a gauntlet for the Heat.
  — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2025
• The Bengals, on the other hand, did not make the playoffs at all.
  — Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
• Whether the Dolphins can win a playoff game is hard to say.
  — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2025
• That catch propelled the Browns to a 23-17 win in OT, and kept their playoff hopes alive.
  — Irie Harris, cleveland, 25 Jan. 2023
• Bird on the field steals the show during tense Padres-Dodgers playoff game.
  — Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 13 Oct. 2022
• Blown away by a string of playoff losses, love was no longer in the air.
  — Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Sep. 2022
• While with the Bruins, Marchand helped beat the Maple Leafs four times in the playoffs.
  — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 19 May 2025
• His close friend, Sam Burns, beat him in a playoff at the Colonial.
  — Doug Ferguson, ajc, 10 Sep. 2022
• The Bills dropped to 13-2 when hosting an NFL playoff game.
  — John Wawrow, Hartford Courant, 22 Jan. 2023
• The Kings are back in the lottery after failing to reach the playoffs.
  — Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 11 May 2024
• The Mavs have clinched a post in the playoffs and have five games left to improve their seeding.
  — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Apr. 2024
• Not making the playoffs for three years has fans antsy.
  — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 8 July 2024
• To reach the playoffs, a team needs to show an ability to win close games late.
  — Evan Grant, Dallas News, 30 Aug. 2023
• Again, these are big swings, the kind of flails that Dodgers batters take when a playoff game is on the line.
  — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 18 Nov. 2022
• Though neither team made it to the final dance, their triumphs over the Reign were the best part of the playoffs.
  — Ash Parrish, The Verge, 3 Oct. 2023
• The team won its last three games to qualify for the playoffs, then beat Hawaii on Nov. 27 to reach the World Bowl.
  — Creg Stephenson | [e-mail], al, 26 July 2023
• Thomas and Zalatoris began the playoff with birdies on the first hole, the 13th.
  — Bill Pennington, New York Times, 22 May 2022
• But, in the playoff's first year with a dozen teams, the Crimson Tide are on the outside looking in.
  — Ryan Morik, Fox News, 27 Nov. 2024
• What will the Miami Heat do to its roster after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons?
  — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 13 June 2025
• Better baseball, indeed, but don't start saving up for playoff tickets just yet.
  — Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 13 June 2025

play off

2 of 2 verb

• Lopez was played off the floor at times in the playoffs against the Pacers.
  — Ryan Stano, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 May 2025
• He’s got soft hands and makes a lot of plays off his backhand.
  — Scott Wheeler, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025
• What’s your favorite thing about the other to play off of?
  — Juan A. Ramírez, Vogue, 22 Nov. 2024
• Smith got up and rallied the rest of his teammates to the line of scrimmage to get the next play off.
  — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 29 Jan. 2023
• NC State got the ball back with four seconds left but couldn't get a play off.
  — Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2023
• The two play off of each other in a way that reminds you of young love and old movies.
  — Amanda Luberto, The Arizona Republic, 22 June 2023
• The spot plays off of Michael Cera’s name to promote their product.
  — Derek Rucker, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
• That allowed Kim to play off the ball and show off his perimeter game.
  — Patrick Z. McGavin, chicagotribune.com, 4 Mar. 2021
• But for much of the night, the All-Star guard was playing off the ball, reading the game, not forcing it.
  — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2025
• Many in baseball have played off the practice as being just part of the game.
  — Ken Belson, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2023
• The electric guitar is bright and plays off the fiddle well.
  — PC Magazine, 4 June 2025
• Being able to play off pick-and-roll is one of my biggest strengths.
  — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 19 May 2024
• The movie plays off a perfect nightmare for many who have sailed, said Ruz.
  — John Hopewell, Variety, 20 Dec. 2023
• Good news is Schroder can play off the ball with the starters and take over as the playmaker for stretches with the bench.
  — Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2020
• Is my voice going to hold up, my mind remain sharp enough to play off the crowd?
  — Charles E. Kraus, New York Daily News, 1 July 2024
• The teams were tied 42-42 when Uphoff took a rebound and raced the length of the court to complete a three-point play off a drive.
  — Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 15 June 2024
• The singer slowed down to a stop and changed her moves to look like a strut in order to play off the wardrobe malfunction.
  — Starr Bowenbank, People.com, 19 May 2025
• The way the light banana slices play off the deep, toasty flavor of the sticky toffee drizzled on top?
  — Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 26 Nov. 2024
• She was played off the court by Napheesa Collier over the final 10-plus minutes of Game 1.
  — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 17 Oct. 2024
• And someone like Jones protects the ball and frees Murray to play off screens with the second unit.
  — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 28 May 2025
• The two play off each other well and are asked to carry the load for New York since the options off the bench aren’t up to the same level.
  — Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Nov. 2024
• That unit features five guys who can space the floor and play off the catch offensively.
  — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 1 May 2025
• The hoax appears to play off of fears of software used to spy on victims’ phones, known as spyware.
  — Ben Goggin, NBC News, 9 Oct. 2023
• The brown-red tones of the floors play off the warm green walls, and gold finishes complete the earthy transformation in the room.
  — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 May 2025
• Chicken sausages pair best with a cold Sauvignon Blanc, where the sweet and salty notes play off each other.
  — Kristy Alpert, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 July 2023
• The golden liqueur plays off the spirit like sun off snow, bringing some herbal warmth through the bracing chill.
  — Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 28 Sep. 2024
• To play off the skirt, Corrin wore a pair of sheer black gloves, and then grounded the whole thing with hefty, below-the-knee platform boots.
  — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 5 Dec. 2023
• The chorus plays off a familiar trope, with a Kesha, twist, of course.
  — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 30 Mar. 2023
• Many recent pause ads try to play off the decision to halt streaming a show.
  — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 12 May 2025
• Each episode features two dates that play off each other.
  — John Hopewell, Variety, 20 Jan. 2025