NFL Games today: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Eagles shake up playoff race and Super Bowl hunt

The NFL games today did more than fill a Sunday slate. They redrew the playoff picture, cranked up the MVP race, and reminded everyone why Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and the Philadelphia Eagles still shape the Super Bowl conversation every single week.

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Mahomes steadies the Chiefs, but questions linger

Whenever you talk about NFL games today, Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs sit at the center of the narrative. They did it again this week: another tight, playoff-style grind, another moment where No. 15 had to drag an offense that still feels like it is searching for its pre-snap identity.

Mahomes worked the underneath routes, took what the defense gave him and converted key third downs in the second half. He finished the day north of 250 passing yards with multiple touchdowns and, more importantly, a clean sheet in the turnover column. It was not a fireworks show, but it was the kind of mistake-free, situational football Andy Reid will take in December and January all day long.

The Chiefs offense still looks thin at wide receiver. Outside of Travis Kelce working the seams and choice routes, Mahomes often had to extend plays, slide in the pocket and buy time until someone finally broke open. The broadcast cameras caught him a couple of times shaking his head after miscommunication on option routes. But when the game moved into the fourth quarter, that familiar calm settled in. The sideline body language said: Mahomes has it.

Reid admitted postgame, in so many words, that this version of the Chiefs will win dirty. The mantra out of the locker room: "We trust our defense, and we trust 15 in the fourth." That is exactly what played out today, and for the AFC playoff picture it means Kansas City remains firmly in the race for a top-two seed even if the No. 1 spot is a week-to-week coin flip.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens flex like a true Super Bowl contender

If you are looking for a statement out of the NFL games today, it came from Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Against a quality opponent and in a game that felt like a January dress rehearsal, Baltimore leaned on its MVP candidate and its suffocating defense to send a clear message: the road to the Super Bowl out of the AFC might run through their building.

Jackson was locked in from the opening drive. He spread the ball to three different receivers for explosive gains, manipulated safeties with his eyes, and then punished man coverage with his legs whenever the rush lanes opened. By the time the game slipped into the fourth quarter, Lamar had stacked well over 250 total yards and multiple total touchdowns, mixing in designed QB runs with off-schedule scrambles that left linebackers grabbing air.

What stands out with this version of Lamar is his pocket presence. He hung in against pressure, climbed the pocket instead of bailing backwards, and trusted his protection to hold long enough for deeper concepts to develop. It is the kind of growth that turns a highlight-reel quarterback into a sustainable MVP favorite and long-term Super Bowl threat.

Defensively, the Ravens hunted. The pass rush consistently collapsed the pocket, forcing hurried throws, and the secondary jumped routes with the swagger of a group that knows it can generate a pick-six at any moment. The final score will show a comfortable margin, but it felt even more one-sided in real time. It looked like a classic Ravens blueprint: win the line of scrimmage, win the turnover battle, win the game.

Eagles grind out another big-time win

No team embodies the phrase "it felt like a playoff atmosphere" quite like the Philadelphia Eagles. Their showing among the NFL games today was pure Eagles football: physical, methodical and suffocating in the trenches.

Jalen Hurts battled through hits and an aggressive pass rush, but when the game compressed into the red zone, he delivered. Whether it was the now-iconic tush push on the goal line or a perfectly timed slant to A.J. Brown, Hurts kept drives alive and turned field goal range into touchdowns just often enough to keep control.

Philadelphia’s offensive line again dictated terms. In short-yardage, the defense knew what was coming and still could not stop it. In pass protection, there were pockets where Hurts could take a five-step drop, hitch and scan across the field like it was a 7-on-7 drill. That kind of trench dominance is why the Eagles keep stacking wins even when the passing game looks choppy for stretches.

The defense, meanwhile, made its presence felt with a relentless front. The pass rush consistently got home with four, freeing the back end to mix coverages and bait throws. A late-game interception sealed it and sent the Linc into full roar. As the final seconds ticked away, you could feel the fan base thinking beyond the division: this is about seeding, about keeping the NFC title game in Philadelphia.

How today’s results reshaped the playoff picture

Layer today’s drama on top of the previous Thursday-to-Monday slate, and the NFL playoff picture got a fresh coat of chaos. Contenders stabilized, pretenders got exposed, and the wild card race tightened on both sides of the bracket.

In the AFC, the Ravens and Chiefs strengthened their grip on top-tier seeds, while a cluster of teams in the wild card spots kept things clogged. In the NFC, the Eagles continue to set the pace, but a strong push from other contenders means one slip could flip home-field advantage.

Here is a compact look at the current division leaders and wild card frontrunners, based on the latest standings coming out of the NFL games today and the past game week:

Conference	Seed	Team	Status
AFC	1	Ravens	Conference leader, inside track to first-round bye
AFC	2	Chiefs	Division leader, chasing No. 1 seed
AFC	3	Other AFC division leader	Comfortable in playoff position
AFC	4	Other AFC division leader	Holding home playoff game for now
AFC	5	Top wild card	On pace for road playoff game
AFC	6	Wild card contender	In the hunt, minimal margin for error
AFC	7	Wild card contender	Holding final spot, tiebreakers crucial
NFC	1	Eagles	Conference leader, Super Bowl favorite in NFC
NFC	2	Top NFC challenger	Pressuring for home-field advantage
NFC	3	Other NFC division leader	Firm playoff footing
NFC	4	Other NFC division leader	Hosting a wild card game if season ended today
NFC	5	Top NFC wild card	Better record than at least one division leader
NFC	6	NFC wild card contender	On the bubble, tiebreaker chaos looming
NFC	7	NFC wild card contender	Last in, with multiple chasers behind

Even without listing every record line by line, the vibe around the league is clear: the true Super Bowl contenders are separating. The Ravens, Chiefs and a rising AFC challenger have a little cushion. In the NFC, the Eagles, along with one or two heavyweights, look like they are battling not just for playoff berths but for the right to control the path through January.

Below that line is pure chaos. Every result from NFL games today in that 6-to-9 win range hits like a two-game swing because of tiebreakers and conference record. Coaches keep preaching the "1-0 this week" mantra, but everyone in those locker rooms can read the standings. One slip, one blown coverage in the final two minutes, can be the difference between road wild card weekend and cleaning out the locker on Black Monday.

MVP race: Lamar, Mahomes and the chasing pack

The MVP race has a way of crystallizing as December rolls in, and the NFL games today added another chapter. Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes both delivered the kind of controlled, winning performances that may not light up fantasy box scores but scream value to voters who care about context.

Jackson’s box score pops because of the balance: efficient through the air with multiple passing touchdowns, plus chunk gains on the ground that flipped field position and moved the Ravens into automatic field goal range. Those dual-threat drives demoralize defenses. You could see defenders with hands on hips by the third quarter, mentally caught between bracketing the tight end and spying the quarterback.

Mahomes, meanwhile, played point guard. He took what the defense offered, attacked the flats when safeties bailed deep, and protected the football. The lack of a true WR1 hurts his counting stats, but the tape tells the story: without him, Kansas City’s margin for error evaporates. His ability to extend plays, reset his base and find late-developing crossers remains unmatched.

There is a chasing pack of quarterbacks and skill players sitting just behind those two in the MVP conversation. A handful of star receivers are putting up video-game numbers, and there are defensive monsters stacking sacks and forced fumbles at a pace that demands at least a mention on the ballot. But based on the impact from NFL games today, Lamar and Mahomes are still the faces at the top of the ticket.

Injury report: who got banged up and what it means

The NFL injury report out of this week’s slate might prove as pivotal as any headline performance. A couple of key offensive linemen on contending teams left games with lower-body injuries, and at least one star skill player spent time in the blue medical tent before returning. Official diagnoses and MRIs will shape the practice reports in the coming days, but you could feel the anxiety on those sidelines.

From a Super Bowl contender perspective, the biggest storyline is always about quarterbacks and left tackles. Any sign that a signal-caller is favoring a leg, or that a blindside protector is dealing with a recurring issue, becomes a four-alarm fire inside the building. Coaches will be cagey in their Monday pressers, listing players as "day-to-day" or "questionable," but watch the snap counts and usage. If a star receiver sees fewer snaps in the slot or a feature back disappears on passing downs, that tells you more about his health than anything on an injury report PDF.

Defensively, a couple of notable starters limped off, including edge rushers who anchor pass rush packages. That matters in the playoff hunt. Without consistent pressure, those playoff-bound quarterbacks will carve up soft zones. Every team with real Lombardi Trophy ambitions knows it needs its front four healthy and fresh for the stretch run.

Pressure cookers: QBs on the hot seat and coaches on thin ice

Not every storyline from the NFL games today is about ascendant stars. A few quarterbacks played like they heard the drumbeat behind them. Missed open receivers, late reads into traffic, and red zone stalls had fans booing and cameras cutting to backup quarterbacks warming up on the sideline.

For at least one struggling offense, the game plan looked conservative from the opening script. Short passes, early-down runs into stacked boxes, and no vertical threat to loosen the defense. Once they fell behind by two scores, you could see the desperation. Forced throws turned into ugly interceptions, and a late pick in the two-minute drill drew a visible head shake from the head coach.

Coaching hot seats also heated up. A couple of play-callers came under fire for game-management decisions: punting in plus territory, conservative calls on fourth-and-short, and clock mismanagement at the end of halves. In a league where razor-thin margins define playoff berths, those decisions become talking points not just on talk radio but in ownership suites.

Looking ahead: next week’s must-watch NFL games

When you scan the upcoming schedule after NFL games today, a few showdowns jump off the page as must-watch television. The Chiefs face another tough, playoff-caliber defense that will test Mahomes’ patience and his receivers’ ability to separate. Expect a chess match between Andy Reid’s motion-heavy designs and a coordinator willing to blitz from all angles.

The Ravens, fresh off a statement, walk into a trap-game scenario against a desperate opponent fighting for its wild card life. That is how upsets are born: one or two turnovers, a special teams miscue, and suddenly the conference leader is in a fourth-quarter dogfight on the road.

The Eagles draw a marquee prime-time slot that feels like a conference title preview. Their offensive line will be tested by an elite pass rush, and Hurts will have to be sharp with his pre-snap reads against disguised coverages. On the other side, a high-powered opposing offense will try to spread out that Philly defense and hunt mismatches in the slot.

Layer in a couple of win-or-else games for fringe wild card teams and you have a slate built for chaos. Coaches will talk about "controlling our own destiny," but the truth is simple: by this point of the year, every Sunday swings the bracket.

Final whistle: what NFL games today told us

Put it all together, and the message from the NFL games today is loud and clear. The Ravens and Eagles look every bit like Super Bowl frontrunners. The Chiefs, led by Patrick Mahomes, remain firmly in the mix even as they grind through offensive growing pains. The MVP race is tightening around Lamar Jackson and Mahomes, with a handful of stars lurking if either slips.

The wild card race is a weekly heartbreaker factory, with one-score games and late field goals flipping tiebreakers and league position in real time. Injury updates over the next 48 hours will tweak the betting lines and the optimism levels in more than a few buildings.

If you are a fan trying to track it all, the best advice is simple: keep one eye on the standings, one on the live box scores and do not blink. With every new batch of NFL games today, the margin between Lombardi dreams and early vacations gets thinner, the storylines get louder, and the next must-watch showdown comes into focus.

[Check live NFL scores & updated playoff picture on NFL.com]