Mahomes, Lamar & Allen light it up: NFL results today live shake up race
04.02.2026 - 14:00:29
Mahomes vs. Allen: Another instant classic
Mahomes and Allen promised fireworks and they flat-out delivered. Patrick Mahomes carved up the secondary with 347 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception, orchestrating drive after drive like it was a seven-on-seven scrimmage. Josh Allen refused to blink, posting 322 yards through the air, 3 touchdowns, and 1 late pick that will be argued about on talk shows for days.
The game flipped on a ridiculous 4th-and-6 in the fourth quarter. Mahomes drifted right, bought time, and dropped a 32-yard dime over bracket coverage to his top wideout on a sideline toe-tap that somehow stayed in by less than a blade of grass. Two plays later, he found his tight end on a seam route for the go-ahead score.
Allen still had a shot. Down one score with under two minutes left, he marched the offense in classic two-minute mode, ripping chunk gains with intermediate lasers and a couple of gut-punch scrambles. The drive hit peak chaos when Allen uncorked a Hail Mary from the 38-yard line as time expired — the ball pinballed off two helmets and a shoulder pad before crashing to the turf just behind his leaping receiver. The stadium went from collective gasp to stunned silence in a heartbeat.
Stat-wise, both QBs put up video game numbers. Mahomes completed over 70% of his passes, repeatedly exploiting soft zones with crossers and angle routes. Allen mixed in 60+ rushing yards and multiple chain-moving scrambles, turning third-and-longs into gutting conversions. This was heavyweight stuff — MVP-level command from both sides, with Mahomes getting the final word.
Lamar turns into a one-man wrecking crew
While Mahomes and Allen traded bombs, Lamar Jackson went full cheat code in his matchup. The box score is filthy: 286 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, plus 104 rushing yards and another score. That's the kind of dual-threat annihilation that makes defensive coordinators lose sleep.
The turning point came early in the third quarter. Clinging to a one-score lead and facing 3rd-and-12, Lamar bailed from a collapsing pocket, reversed field, broke two tackles, and outran the entire defense for a 49-yard rushing touchdown that felt like a season-defining moment. The sideline went nuts, the crowd lost its mind, and you could feel the other team's will crack in real time.
From there, it was pure control. Lamar diced up man coverage with timing routes, ripped seams against two-deep looks, and continuously punished linebackers who turned their backs in coverage. He finished with a passer rating north of 110 and a yards-per-attempt mark that screams efficiency and aggression in equal measure.
Burrow battles, Jefferson eats, but the defense decides it
Joe Burrow came in banged up but still slung it. He posted 295 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception, leaning heavily on quick game to protect his patchwork line. You could tell the calf wasn't 100%, but Burrow's anticipation and accuracy kept the offense humming.
On the other side, Justin Jefferson reminded everybody exactly who he is. The star wide receiver detonated the stat sheet with 11 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown, repeatedly torching single coverage and even winning against bracket looks on key downs. Every time the offense needed a play, they isolated Jefferson, trusted him to win, and he did — over and over.
But this one turned on defense. In the fourth quarter, clinging to a narrow lead, the pass rush finally woke up. Back-to-back drive-killing sacks on Burrow — including a blindside strip-sack that shifted field position — slammed the door. Burrow had one final crack with under a minute left, but tight coverage forced a checkdown in bounds and the clock bled out before he could get to the sticks.
What it all means for the standings
The ripple effects of today's results are huge. Mahomes' squad just tightened its grip on a top seed, Allen's crew slips deeper into the wildcard mess, and Lamar's statement win keeps his team sitting firmly in the upper tier of contenders. Burrow's loss nudges his side closer to must-win territory down the stretch, while Jefferson's monster night is keeping his franchise right in the thick of the chase.
What does this mean for the playoff race? Check the current NFL picture here
Live-wire moments you'll be seeing on every highlight reel
- Hail Mary chaos: Allen's final heave ricocheting through a crowd of hands before falling incomplete — that freeze-frame of four bodies mid-air is going to live on Instagram all week.
- Fourth-down ice: Mahomes' 4th-and-6 sideline rope to save the game is exactly why defenses have nightmares about him outside the pocket.
- Lamar's Madden run: A 49-yard scramble TD that looked like a joystick glitch, breaking ankles and angles in a single play.
- Burrow under siege: A perfectly timed slot blitz and a blindside strip-sack flipped momentum, proof that one defensive call can rewrite an entire afternoon.
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Beat writer take: This felt like January football
Honest truth? Today didn't feel like a random regular-season slate — it felt like a playoff sampler. Mahomes and Allen are playing at a level where every possession feels like sudden death. Lamar is straight-up breaking the sport when he's this locked in. Burrow is hanging on with grit and timing while his protection frays at the edges. Jefferson is the kind of star who keeps you in any game no matter how ugly it gets.
The controversial no-call on the Hail Mary contact at the end of Mahomes vs. Allen is the exact type of moment we'll all still be talking about months from now. There was contact, there was hand-fighting, and the refs swallowed the whistle. Do I think you can make that call in that spot? Honestly, no — unless it's egregious, you let the players decide it in the air. Allen had chances earlier, Mahomes made one more play, and that's football at the knife's edge.
Big-picture, this slate screamed one thing: the margin for error at the top is razor-thin. One fourth-down conversion, one scramble, one missed chip block can tilt an entire conference. If you're searching for NFL scores live and wondering who's actually built for the Super Bowl grind, circle the teams that won today. They handled chaos, survived swings, and let their stars carry them. That travels in January.
Closing whistle: The race is only getting wilder
So where does that leave us? Mahomes strengthens his MVP narrative, Lamar plants another flag in the "best player in the league" conversation, Allen stays dangerous despite the loss, Burrow hangs on in a brutal gauntlet, and Jefferson continues to prove he's the most unguardable receiver on the planet.
The standings board just got reshuffled, and every upcoming week is going to feel bigger than the last. Bookmark this and keep one eye glued to the table as the chaos ramps up.
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