NFL Games Today: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson shake up playoff race as Chiefs, Ravens chase No. 1 seed

The NFL games today did more than fill a Sunday slate. They detonated the playoff picture, shoved Super Bowl contenders into the spotlight, and put a few supposed heavyweights on notice. Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy all stamped the Week's narrative in very different ways, and the standings now look a whole lot more like January than midseason.

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With the dust from the latest NFL games today barely settling, the league hierarchy is getting brutally clear. The 49ers and Ravens look like complete teams built for a deep run. The Chiefs still live on Mahomes magic. The Eagles, Cowboys, Dolphins, Lions and a resurgent Bills group are hovering in that dangerous tier just below, one hot month away from being called favorites, one bad Sunday from being exposed.

Mahomes keeps the Chiefs in Super Bowl mode

Every time Kansas City looks mortal for a week or two, Mahomes finds a way to reset the conversation. This weekend was more of the same. He carved up coverages, extended plays outside the pocket and once again turned broken plays into back-breaking conversions in the red zone. The Chiefs offense may not be as explosive as in the peak Tyreek Hill era, but Mahomes control of tempo and situational football still feels unmatched across the league.

Andy Reid leaned into a balanced approach, mixing in heavy doses of Isiah Pacheco to keep defenses honest and open up play action. You could feel the defense getting sucked up just enough for Mahomes to hit intermediate crossers and seam routes. It was vintage Chiefs: not always pretty on a per-play basis, but devastating on third downs and in the final two minutes of each half.

"We know the standard here," Mahomes said afterward, echoing what has become the organization’s unofficial slogan. "It is about getting better every week and being ready for January." The AFC playoff picture still runs through Arrowhead until someone proves otherwise.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens look terrifyingly complete

If there is one team that can pull the AFC No. 1 seed from Kansas City’s hands, it is the Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson played with that MVP-caliber calm again, sliding in the pocket, taking the free yards with his legs and punishing blitz looks with quick strikes to his receivers and tight ends. The box score will show the yards and touchdowns, but what stands out is his command: checks at the line, blitz beaters, and the patience to take five-yard outs instead of hunting for the 60-yard home run.

Baltimore’s defense continues to fit the identity perfectly. Multiple pressures, disguised coverages, corners squatting on routes knowing the pass rush will get home. They harassed opposing quarterbacks all afternoon, collapsing the pocket and forcing rushed throws that turned into picks and near-picks. It felt like a playoff atmosphere, the kind of tone-setting performance that makes offensive coordinators spend an extra night in the film room.

On NFL.com and across the league’s official stats pages, the Ravens sit near the top in point differential and defensive efficiency. That is not an accident. This is a Super Bowl contender that can win in the mud, win a track meet, or close out a slugfest with a four-minute offense.

Eagles and 49ers still define the NFC’s power tier

Over in the NFC, the latest round of NFL games today reminded everyone that the road to the Super Bowl likely runs through Philadelphia or San Francisco. The 49ers again rolled out their familiar script: a ruthless run game, Kyle Shanahan’s motion-heavy scheme stressing every blade of grass, and Brock Purdy quietly playing point guard at an elite level.

Purdy’s stat line does not scream gunslinger, but it is the efficiency that jumps off the page. He moved the chains on third down, stayed patient against two-high shells and took profits underneath until the defense finally bit on a play-action shot. When you combine that with Christian McCaffrey churning out yards after contact and Deebo Samuel breaking tackles on the perimeter, the 49ers offense feels inevitable.

The Eagles, meanwhile, continue living on the edge. Jalen Hurts battled through hits, extended plays with his legs and leaned on that unstoppable tush-push in short yardage. But the defense gave up chunk plays again, and Philadelphia flirted with blowing another late lead. Nick Sirianni admitted after the game that they are not playing their best ball yet, but they are winning while figuring things out. That might be the most dangerous trait of all.

Game highlights: heartbreakers, upsets and statement wins

The Sunday slate served up everything from nail-biters to blowouts. In one of the weekend’s wildest finishes, a would-be game-winning drive stalled just outside field goal range after back-to-back sacks pushed a team from the fringe of the kicker’s comfort zone to desperation Hail Mary mode. The edge rushers simply took over the two-minute drill, ripping around the corner, forcing a fumble and sending the home crowd into a stunned silence.

Elsewhere, a fringe playoff hopeful pulled off an upset over a division leader, leaning on a rugged run game and opportunistic defense. A key Pick-Six in the second quarter flipped momentum, and from that moment on, the underdog played with nothing to lose. The favorite clawed back into it, but a crucial fourth-down stop in the red zone made the difference late.

Then there was the late-window thriller that turned into a quarterback duel. Both passers traded deep shots and tight-window throws, piling up passing yards and touchdowns in a way that felt like a January preview. One of them froze a blitz with perfect pocket presence, sliding up and hitting a crossing route on third-and-long to keep the game-winning drive alive. That is the kind of play voters remember when they talk about the MVP race in December.

Standings snapshot: who owns the playoff picture right now?

Check the latest standings on NFL.com and ESPN and a few themes jump off the page. The top of the AFC is a knife fight between the Chiefs, Ravens and a couple of fast-charging challengers like the Dolphins and Bills. In the NFC, the 49ers and Eagles have the inside track, with the Lions, Cowboys and a feisty wild card pack not far behind.

The No. 1 seeds are massive this year. That bye week and home-field advantage can be the difference between a deep Super Bowl push and running out of gas in the divisional round. Here is a compact look at how the top of each conference stacks up based on the current league position and recent results.

That is the macro view. Zoom in, and the wild card race is even nastier. Multiple teams sit within a single game of each other in both conferences, creating a weekly churn where one loss pulls you from "in control" to "needs help." Every snap in the red zone, every special-teams miscue and every injury report now has direct playoff implications.

Wild Card race: living on the edge

The AFC wild card hunt might be the most chaotic in years. The Bills have looked like both a top-three team in football and a fringe outfit in different quarters of the same game. The Browns are riding an elite defense but shuffling quarterbacks and leaning on field position and takeaways. The Steelers, as always under Mike Tomlin, refuse to go quietly, even with an offense that spends long stretches in neutral.

In the NFC, the Cowboys feel like a team built to bully weaker opponents but still needing that signature road win against a heavyweight. The Seahawks, Vikings, and Packers have all had weeks where they looked like legit playoff teams and others where they looked like they were headed for a top-10 draft pick. It is that kind of year: the middle class is bloated, and every Sunday rescues or ruins someone’s season.

Coaches talk in cliches about going 1-0 each week, but this time of year it is reality. Drop one game you should win, and suddenly the tiebreakers – conference record, common opponents, divisional splits – become a noose around your season.

MVP race: Mahomes vs. Lamar, with Purdy and Hurts lurking

The MVP race tightened again after the latest NFL games today. Mahomes and Lamar Jackson remain the front-line candidates, and their cases could not be more different stylistically. Mahomes is doing the heavy lifting for a Chiefs offense that has cycled through receiver roles and still finds a way to deliver in high-leverage downs. Lamar is the centerpiece of a Ravens attack built to punish defensive overreactions, equally happy to win with his arm or his legs.

Statistically, both are stacking the kind of resumes voters love: big-time passing yards, touchdown totals, and signature wins in prime-time windows. Mahomes shredded another top-10 defense with multiple touchdown passes and clutch throws late. Jackson, meanwhile, picked apart blitz-heavy looks, adding rushing yards that do not just look pretty on the stat sheet but directly keep drives alive.

On the NFC side, Brock Purdy’s name refuses to go away. Surrounded by All-Pro talent, he still has to process quickly and deliver in tight windows for the 49ers juggernaut to function. His insane efficiency numbers – passer rating, yards per attempt, low interception totals – are pushing him into the conversation, even if some voters are hesitant to reward a quarterback in such a loaded system.

Jalen Hurts is right there as well. His total touchdowns (passing plus rushing) keep climbing, and his role in Philadelphia’s short-yardage dominance is impossible to ignore. That "tush push" is practically a cheat code, but it is a cheat code made possible by Hurts leg strength, timing and decision-making at the line.

One defensive name belongs in this MVP conversation too, at least on the fringes: a pass rusher who keeps stacking multi-sack games and forcing fumbles at critical moments. Awards voters rarely break tradition, but the kind of defensive dominance we are seeing this season is the engine of at least one playoff-caliber team’s identity.

Injury report: contenders walking a tightrope

The NFL injury report this week again reminded everyone how fragile a Super Bowl push can be. Several contenders saw key starters leave with soft-tissue issues and contact injuries that could swing their next few games – and with them, seeding.

One offensive line cornerstone on a top-tier AFC team limped off with what the team called a lower-body injury. Without him, pass protection looked shakier, blitzes got home quicker, and that offense’s playbook shrank noticeably. On the NFC side, a star wide receiver took a hard shot over the middle, went straight to the locker room for evaluation and did not return. The passing game never quite looked the same afterward, sputtering in the red zone and failing to separate on the perimeter.

Coaches were predictably guarded postgame. "We will see after the scans," one said. But the subtext is obvious: losing just one blue-chip player can turn a Super Bowl contender into a wild card question mark.

Roster moves are already starting to reflect this reality. Practice squad call-ups at corner, emergency signings at running back, and a carousel of backup quarterbacks learning new playbooks on short notice. Depth wins in this league, and the teams that survive December are usually the ones built to withstand a couple of body blows.

Coaching hot seat and locker-room vibes

Behind every blown fourth-quarter lead and stalled red zone trip, there is a coach who can hear the volume turning up. A couple of teams that came into the season with playoff expectations are now living in weekly speculation about their head coach’s future. Conservative decision-making on fourth-and-short, questionable clock management before the two-minute warning, and stale schemes are all being dissected on talk radio and social media.

Inside the locker rooms, players are saying all the right things – "We are all in this together," "We trust the process" – but you can feel the cracks when the losses start stacking. A veteran defensive leader openly questioned the energy level this week, saying, "We can not keep spotting teams double digits and expect to climb back." That is the kind of quote that lingers.

By contrast, you wander into the Chiefs, Ravens, 49ers or Eagles locker rooms and it feels different. Confident, not cocky. Playoff-ready. They talk about details – spacing in zone coverage, landmarks on option routes, leverage in the run game – and it shows on Sundays.

What today means for the Super Bowl race

Stack up all of the NFL games today, and a few truths about the Lombardi chase emerge. The Chiefs, Ravens, 49ers and Eagles remain the core Super Bowl contenders. The Dolphins, Lions, Cowboys and Bills sit just below, capable of beating anyone in a one-off but still searching for full consistency. Dark horses – think scrappy wild card squads with nasty defenses and opportunistic offenses – are lurking, waiting for one upset to blow the bracket open.

Home field will matter. Nobody wants a January date at Arrowhead, The Bank in Baltimore, the Linc in Philadelphia or Levi’s with those 49ers fans ringing cowbells in the cold. But health might matter even more. The team that reaches February will likely be the one that manages the grind, stays relatively clean on the injury report, and keeps its star quarterback upright and confident.

Next week’s must-watch slate

Looking ahead, the schedule-makers might as well have drawn up a playoff teaser. Chiefs vs. a top AFC challenger in prime time. Ravens in a brutal divisional matchup that always feels like a street fight. Eagles and Cowboys renewing their rivalry in a game that could decide the NFC East and maybe the No. 1 seed. The 49ers facing a physical test against a team desperate to prove it belongs in the same tier.

If you care about the NFL playoff picture and the wild card race, you can not miss Sunday Night Football or Monday Night Football next week. We are at the stage where one busted coverage, one missed field goal, or one MVP-level performance from Mahomes or Lamar Jackson can flip seeding lines and rewrite every bracket projection overnight.

So lock in your viewing schedule, keep the NFL games today tab open on NFL.com for live scores and stats, and settle in. The stretch run is here, the MVP race is heating up, and the Super Bowl contenders are finally separating from the pack.