NFL Games Today: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Eagles Shake Up Playoff Race

The NFL games today did exactly what this league does best: rip up every script, torch every prediction and turn the playoff race into pure chaos. Patrick Mahomes dragged the Chiefs back from the brink, Lamar Jackson carved up another secondary, and the Eagles survived a gut-check thriller that felt every bit like January football.

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With the regular season sprinting toward the finish line, every snap now carries playoff weight. Division leads flipped, Wild Card hopes stayed alive by inches, and a couple of Super Bowl contenders looked suddenly human. The NFL games today did not just fill the schedule; they re-wrote the league hierarchy in real time.

Mahomes in crisis mode: Chiefs survive another thriller

Patrick Mahomes is used to playing from in front, but his signature this season has been survival. In another tense one-score game, Mahomes steadied a sputtering Kansas City offense and engineered the kind of late drive that keeps the Chiefs firmly in the Super Bowl conversation. He was not flawless, but when the clock bled under the two-minute warning, the pocket presence, the off-platform throws and the calm were all there.

The offense still does not look like the track meet version that blew teams off the field a few years ago, but Mahomes continues to find answers in the red zone, manipulating safeties and buying just enough time to hit his second and third reads. Defensively, Kansas City dialed up timely pressure, collapsing the pocket and forcing hurried throws that flipped field position in their favor.

One assistant coach put it bluntly afterward, according to multiple reports: they are not chasing style points, they are chasing rings. That is the Chiefs right now: imperfect, but terrifying when the game is on the line.

Lamar Jackson’s MVP push hits overdrive

If the MVP race needed a statement day, Lamar Jackson delivered. In another electric outing, Jackson shredded a defense that spent all week talking about keeping him in the pocket, only to watch him slice them up through the air and gash them on the ground. He piled up well over 300 total yards with multiple touchdowns, extending drives with his legs and hitting tight-window throws outside the numbers that used to be considered his weakness.

At times, it looked unfair. The Ravens spread the field, emptied the backfield and challenged the front seven to tackle in space. They could not. Jackson’s command at the line of scrimmage has become as dangerous as his open-field speed. Checks at the line, quick motions to diagnose coverage, and rhythm throws on early downs kept the chains ahead of schedule all afternoon.

The MVP chatter around Jackson is no longer just narrative; it is backed by weekly dominance. He sits near the top of the league in total touchdowns, and the Ravens are either holding or pushing hard for the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Ask any defensive coordinator privately which quarterback keeps them up the most this season, and Jackson’s name comes out fast.

Eagles win a heart-stopper, but questions linger

On paper, the Philadelphia Eagles did what contenders are supposed to do in the NFL games today: they found a way. On the field, it felt like three different games rolled into one. Jalen Hurts battled through early inconsistency to hit clutch throws in the fourth quarter, including a perfectly layered ball on a deep over route that flipped the field in an instant.

The Philly offense still lives heavily on the QB sneak, RPO game and physical boundary throws to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, but what separated them in this one was situational football. Third-and-medium, red zone, final two minutes: head coach Nick Sirianni and Hurts dialed up exactly what they needed, exactly when they needed it.

Defensively, though, the Eagles looked vulnerable again. They gave up big chunk plays down the seams and struggled to get off the field on third down. The pass rush flashed late, but there were too many snaps where the quarterback had time to scan, reset and pick apart soft zones. For a team eyeing another Super Bowl run, that bend-but-don’t-break approach is walking a thin line.

Upsets and gut punches: teams that blinked at the wrong time

No slate of NFL games today is complete without a few gut punches, and this week delivered. A would-be contender stumbled badly on the road, coughing up turnovers in the red zone and gifting a desperate opponent short fields. A supposed top-five defense got pushed around in the trenches, watching a physical run game chew clock and bleed them dry.

The theme was the same in multiple stadiums: if you are sloppy in November and December, you do not just lose games, you lose tiebreakers, seeding and sometimes your season. One playoff hopeful saw its quarterback throw a brutal pick-six on an out route that the corner had been sitting on all day. Another got burned on special teams, allowing a long return that swung momentum and ignited the crowd.

The locker room reactions told the story. Angry linemen talking about pad level and effort. Quarterbacks taking the blame for late interceptions. Veterans insisting there is time to fix things, even as the standings tell a harsher truth.

The playoff picture: who controls the AFC and NFC?

After the NFL games today, the playoff picture tightened into a knife fight. The AFC remains loaded at the top, with the Ravens and Chiefs jostling for the 1-seed and home-field advantage. In the NFC, the Eagles stay in the driver’s seat, but challengers are lining up, ready to pounce on any slip.

Here is a snapshot of the current division leaders and top wild card contenders, based on the latest results and official standings from the league site and major outlets:

The No. 1 seeds are massive this season. With only a single bye per conference, the difference between finishing first and second is the difference between a week off and a brutal Wild Card showdown against a hot opponent. That is why every late drive, every fourth down call and every challenge flag in the NFL games today felt like a playoff decision.

In the AFC, the Wild Card race is a traffic jam. Several teams sit within a game of each other, all hovering around the .500 mark, trading blows and tiebreakers head-to-head. One injury to a starting quarterback or a key pass-rusher could swing that entire bracket in a single weekend.

Who is really a Super Bowl contender right now?

Strip away the noise, the social media takes and the weekly overreactions, and a core group of true Super Bowl contenders emerges from the NFL games today.

The Chiefs, even with their offensive hiccups, remain a nightmare in January because Mahomes is Mahomes and the defense is physical and creative. The Ravens are bullying teams in the trenches and have a quarterback playing like the league’s best player. The Eagles, despite their defensive leaks, know how to close out tight games and have a battle-tested core.

Right behind them, a handful of teams are one or two tweaks away from joining the inner circle. A high-flying NFC offense that can score from anywhere on the field but still struggles in short-yardage situations. An AFC squad with a suffocating defense and an inconsistent quarterback who can look elite one drive and lost the next.

What sets the real contenders apart is how they respond to stress. Teams that can still run the ball when everyone in the stadium knows it is coming, convert third-and-7 in a hostile road environment, and get a stop on defense when the season hangs in the balance. The best teams showed those traits repeatedly in the NFL games today.

MVP race: Lamar, Mahomes and the chasing pack

The MVP race tightened after this slate, but the front of the pack is clear. Lamar Jackson added another signature performance to his case, combining explosive plays with surgical efficiency. With every week he stays healthy and the Ravens keep stacking wins, his odds climb.

Patrick Mahomes remains very much in the hunt, even without gaudy video-game numbers every week. Voters know what they are watching: tight-window throws on third-and-long, off-script magic when the pocket collapses, and a constant stream of winning football. The tape still screams most valuable, especially when you see how thin the margin is for Kansas City without him.

A couple of other quarterbacks and skill players are hanging around the conversation. A dual-threat back putting up massive yards from scrimmage. A wideout who has turned every Sunday into a personal highlight reel. A defensive end racking up sacks and pressures at a pace that lives in the offensive coordinator’s nightmares.

Still, as of the NFL games today, the MVP conversation runs straight through Jackson and Mahomes, with Jalen Hurts keeping himself in striking distance every time he pulls out a late-game drive like the one we just saw.

Injury report: the hits that could reshape the stretch run

No weekend of NFL action is complete without the injury report changing the season for somebody. Today was no different. Several playoff-caliber rosters watched key players limp off, and the next MRI or scan could define their ceilings.

One contending team saw a star wide receiver leave with a lower-body issue after getting rolled up on along the sideline. Another watched a starting cornerback head to the locker room with what looked like a soft-tissue injury, a nightmare scenario in a conference loaded with elite quarterbacks.

A trench anchor on the offensive line exited with what appeared to be a hand or wrist problem, and the offense immediately felt the ripple effects. Pass protection became leaky, the run game bogged down and the play-caller had to bail on deeper concepts to protect the quarterback.

Coaches will downplay severity postgame, but medical updates on Monday and midweek practice reports will tell the truth. For a few teams clinging to Wild Card hopes, losing a single Pro Bowl-level starter at the wrong spot could be the difference between sneaking into the postseason and watching NFL games today from the couch in January.

Next week’s must-watch slate: circle these kickoffs

The beauty of a chaotic Sunday is that it makes the next week even bigger. Coming off the drama of the NFL games today, the schedule ahead looks loaded with playoff-caliber showdowns and potential statement wins.

One heavyweight AFC clash pits an explosive offense against a defense that just held a top unit to a season low. Expect a playoff atmosphere, plenty of pre-snap motion, creative blitz packages and at least one fourth-down call that lights up every talk show on Monday.

In the NFC, a primetime matchup features the Eagles on the road against another contender with serious Super Bowl aspirations. That game will be a litmus test: is Philadelphia just surviving, or can they dominate a top-tier opponent away from home? For the challenger, it is a chance to grab tiebreaker leverage and announce themselves as a legitimate threat for the No. 1 seed.

Do not sleep on the Wild Card battles either. A couple of .500-ish teams are about to play elimination games in everything but name. Lose, and your playoff probability chart falls off a cliff. Win, and the locker room believes again.

Why the NFL games today matter more than ever

As the calendar creeps deeper into the back half of the season, every week starts to feel like a mini postseason. The NFL games today did not just fill highlight reels, they re-shaped the road to Vegas and re-ordered the MVP race.

Mahomes is still that dude. Lamar Jackson looks like the league’s most unstoppable problem. The Eagles keep finding ways to win, even while showing cracks that better opponents will attack. And behind them, a pack of hungry challengers is clawing for seeding, tiebreakers and respect.

If you are trying to figure out who will be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, you cannot just box-score scout anymore. You have to watch who converts in the red zone, who protects the ball in the two-minute drill, who gets a stop with their backs against the wall. Those answers were loud and clear across the NFL games today.

The stretch run is here. Must-watch football every week. And if this slate is any indication, the real chaos is only just getting started.