How to Use playoff in a Sentence

playoff

1 of 2 noun

• Just look at both playoff games so far.
  — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2026
• The top eight teams make the playoffs.
  — Ryan Finley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2025
• The top eight teams make the playoffs.
  — Ryan Finley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2025
• This was a playoff-type game — high stakes.
  — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2026
• Chiefs were one-and-done in playoffs.
  — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 12 Oct. 2025
• Dallas has a long way to go to be a playoff team.
  — Jon MacHota, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
• At this point, the Chiefs are not in a playoff spot.
  — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2025
• At 2-6, their playoff hopes are not quite dead yet.
  — James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
• To break through that second round of the playoffs.
  — Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
• Force wins, never more so than in the playoffs.
  — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 26 May 2026
• Insert a joke about the new playoff salary cap here?
  — Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
• This is the 15th playoff game the team will have played.
  — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
• Not quite playoff-caliber loud, but loud all the same.
  — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 22 Sep. 2025
• What teams surprised the most in the first week of the playoffs?
  — Dan Albano, Oc Register, 18 Feb. 2026
• Robertson isn’t bad in the playoffs, per se.
  — Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
• The coach recalled a goal-line stand at the end of a playoff game.
  — Thomas Lake, CNN, 12 July 2024
• The Tigers are on pace to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.
  — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
• Both teams are headed to the playoffs.
  — Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Feb. 2026
• And just knowing if that is this team, we are built for the playoffs.
  — Kansas City Star, 4 Feb. 2026
• Blown away by a string of playoff losses, love was no longer in the air.
  — Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Sep. 2022
• The playoffs offer a life raft.
  — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
• Pine has outscored its playoff foes 24-0.
  — Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Feb. 2026
• 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
• See the full playoff bracket here.
  — Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
• Through the air, their pass-catching group is one of the worst in the playoffs.
  — Austin Mock, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
• When were the Flyers in the playoffs last?
  — Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
• The Texas high school boys soccer playoffs are here.
  — Colby Gordon, Austin American Statesman, 18 Mar. 2026
• The Texas high school girls soccer playoffs are here.
  — Colby Gordon, Austin American Statesman, 18 Mar. 2026
• The Bruins are not a playoff lock.
  — Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
• As well as a desire to get the team back to playoff contention.
  — Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Feb. 2026

play off

2 of 2 verb

• Then, she’s played off of that.
  — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
• So, of course, the video would play off of that.
  — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
• Should Ware just play off the bench?
  — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
• The two sports play off each other.
  — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
• The changeup played off of that.
  — Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 3 June 2026
• Herro played off the bench in his first game in over a month.
  — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2026
• That bass would play off of the horn rhythm that was already set up.
  — Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2026
• When the box is lit, the acrylic pieces shine and play off each other.
  — Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 15 Mar. 2026
• Take a play off and everyone will find out.
  — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026
• Each of them gives the other something to play off of.
  — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2025
• The songs play off the imagery of ice falling.
  — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 15 Feb. 2026
• Rackets are solid and balls can be played off of walls.
  — Dj Siddiqi, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
• Threw the ball really well, made some plays off point.
  — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Sep. 2025
• Menefee said his bill would play off that precedent.
  — Jeremy Wallace, Houston Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2026
• Herro played off the bench in his first game in nearly a month.
  — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2026
• One of his biggest learning points was how to play off the puck.
  — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
• Being able to play off pick-and-roll is one of my biggest strengths.
  — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 19 May 2024
• There were two big plays off of it and two other sacks that happened off of it.
  — Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
• For now, Jovic is playing off the Heat’s bench.
  — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 31 Dec. 2025
• 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 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
• Swing the ball from one side of the floor to the other, play off the catch and punch gaps off the bounce.
  — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 19 Apr. 2026
• Many of the jokes played off the inane truths of the work environment.
  — Chris Koseluk, HollywoodReporter, 13 Jan. 2026
• That allowed Kim to play off the ball and show off his perimeter game.
  — Patrick Z. McGavin, chicagotribune.com, 4 Mar. 2021
• Many in baseball have played off the practice as being just part of the game.
  — Ken Belson, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2023
• Lopez was played off the floor at times in the playoffs against the Pacers.
  — Ryan Stano, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 May 2025
• Landry also played off the ball some in base personnel.
  — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 14 Oct. 2025
• In such vignettes, nature is played off nature and made strange.
  — Thomas Meaney, New Yorker, 2 July 2025
• But also a very good athlete that has some juice and can make plays off schedule.
  — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Nov. 2024
• So, just playing off that because that’s going to be a huge weapon for me.
  — Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 28 June 2025