How to Use playoff in a Sentence

playoff

1 of 2 noun

• Teams who can score but can’t defend and vice versa rarely make deep playoff runs.
  — Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Apr. 2023
• About three weeks ago, a Vermont high school girls’ basketball team forfeited a playoff game.
  — Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2023
• The Jets have the longest postseason drought in the league, missing the playoffs in the past 13 seasons.
  — Andy Scholes, CNN, 10 Oct. 2024
• His only other save came in a Japan postseason playoff game in 2016.
  — CBS News, 22 Mar. 2023
• The sides couldn’t come to an agreement before training camp, talks cooling once the Pacers pushed toward playoff contention.
  — Staff Writer follow, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2023
• The former is league average — in line with playoff teams like Cleveland and Tampa Bay.
  — Theo MacKie, The Arizona Republic, 24 Mar. 2023
• The Nets were 31-20 and in playoff contention before Irving demanded a trade.
  — Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 17 Feb. 2023
• With Wiggins likely not suiting up for at least a few more days, can the Warriors finally validate all their believers and make a deep playoff run?
  — Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Apr. 2023
• The Spurs flipped to the Hawks – then considered a burgeoning playoff team – for a slew of future draft picks that could fast-forward their reconstruction project.
  — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 18 Mar. 2023
• Their contrasting playoff runs add even more intrigue to a Super Bowl battle between teams that have each won a Super Bowl in the last five years.
  — Catena Media, oregonlive, 3 Feb. 2023
• That was a rare spotlight moment for Anderson, whose White Sox have made two rather forgettable playoff appearances in his seven-year career.
  — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2023
• 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
• The Ducks never got to the gate, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
  — Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 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
• 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
• That team is too good and too healthy, primed for a playoff run, to give them anything easy.
  — Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press, 11 Apr. 2023
• The defeat was a blow to the Dream’s hopes of securing the league’s eighth and final playoff berth.
  — Sam Joseph, CNN, 9 Sep. 2024
• The Hornets finished 9-2 that season with an overtime loss to Prattville in the first round of the playoffs.
  — Ben Thomas | [e-mail], al, 19 Sep. 2023
• The Phillies went on to win the game against the New York Mets 5-2, bringing the team one step closer to clinching a wild card berth in the playoffs.
  — Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 26 Sep. 2023
• The Indians have been sweeping through the playoffs and are on a nine game win streak.
  — Mike Waters, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 May 2024
• The Falcons won this somewhat forgotten gem of playoff encounter, 27-20.
  — Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 27 Sep. 2024

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play off

2 of 2 verb

• 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
• Many in baseball have played off the practice as being just part of the game.
  — Ken Belson, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2023
• 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 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
• 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
• 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
• The hexagon gazebo plays off elements in the landscape.
  — Abby Wolner, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 May 2024
• Pittman likes to play off the edge of being the underdog, like the Razorbacks are today.
  — Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2022
• Dominique Badji let the ball run and Brandon Vazquez came in behind him to finish the play off.
  — The Enquirer, 6 June 2023
• Coach Jim Carnes was impressed with his team’s ability to play off Scott.
  — Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 3 Feb. 2023
• Just going out there and competing and knowing how to play off our guys.
  — Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 2 Oct. 2022
• Watching Spader and Keach play off of each other was a delight.
  — Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2023
• Bunkers have been moved to bring them into play off the tee, including two positioned in the middle of the fifth and 15th fairways.
  — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2024
• The minute-long spot, for Apple TV+, played off the idea that everyone in the industry seemed to have a television show but him.
  — Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 June 2024
• Ndu followed that up with a three-point play off an Atholton turnover as River Hill took a six-point lead early in overtime.
  — Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 29 Feb. 2024
• Celery root stands up to the treatment well, with its earthiness playing off the same quality of the mushrooms in the sauce.
  — Joe Yonan, Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2024
• Micah Parsons has used his speed to his advantage plenty of times as a pass rusher and when he’s asked to play off the ball.
  — Dallas News, 27 Oct. 2022
• Goff explains that the business partnership is about more than just the play off his name and the company’s slogan.
  — Dj Siddiqi, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2024
• Ward remembers playing just one snap when starter Luke Schomburg lost his helmet and was forced to take a play off.
  — al, 25 Aug. 2022
• In a lot of ways, our style has become much more casual, so our jewelry has this casual background to play off of.
  — Camille Freestone, refinery29.com, 30 Aug. 2024
• But for all that went right and not-so-right during Sunday’s 2024 Emmys telecast, there’s one mistake even the producers agree on: John Oliver was played off at the exact wrong moment.
  — Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Sep. 2024

Last Updated: 30 Oct 2024