NFL Games today: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and 49ers shake up playoff race and Super Bowl chase
18.01.2026 - 04:01:59
The latest slate of NFL games today did exactly what this season keeps doing: shredding preseason narratives and rewriting the playoff script in real time. Patrick Mahomes steadied the Kansas City Chiefs, Lamar Jackson kept the Baltimore Ravens locked into the AFC race, and the San Francisco 49ers once again looked every bit like a Super Bowl contender as the NFL playoff picture tightened across both conferences.
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With NFL games today tilting division races and the wild card scramble, every drive felt like January football. Stadiums had that playoff atmosphere: sideline huddles a little tighter, fans a little louder, and every snap loaded with stakes for seeding, tiebreakers, and the evolving Super Bowl picture.
Mahomes calms the storm, Chiefs reassert themselves
The Chiefs came into this week under as much noise as they’ve faced in the Mahomes era: inconsistent offense, red zone stalls, and questions about whether Kansas City had finally slipped back to the pack. For about three quarters, it looked like more of the same. Then Mahomes went into surgeon mode.
Working out of a clean pocket just often enough, Mahomes spread the ball, attacked the middle of the field, and leaned on his chemistry with Travis Kelce to move the chains in must-have moments. It was classic situational dominance: third-and-medium conversions, sharp reads against disguised coverages, and off-script throws when the play broke down.
What jumped out was the willingness to stay patient. Instead of hunting the deep shot on every snap, Mahomes took what the defense gave him, checked into runs in light boxes, and trusted his defense to keep the game in structure. That balance is what has defined Kansas City during its title runs, and for the first time in a couple weeks, it felt like the Chiefs offense and defense were synced up again.
One opposing defender put it simply afterward, paraphrased: "You think you’ve got him contained, then he breaks the pocket and your coverage clock resets to zero." In a tight AFC, that kind of late-game poise still tilts the field.
Lamar Jackson drags the Ravens through another slugfest
On the other side of the conference, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens leaned into their identity: physical, ruthless, and relentless. The box score will show the usual dual-threat line for Jackson, with impactful rushing yards on scrambles and designed keepers plus timely throws on in-breaking routes in the intermediate windows. But the real story was his control of the tempo.
Time and again, Jackson extended drives with his legs just when the defense seemed to have the play covered. He slid out of closing pockets, turned would-be sacks into chunk gains, and forced defenders to choose between staying in coverage or committing to the QB run. That constant conflict is why Baltimore remains one of the hardest outs in the league.
Inside the building, coaches keep preaching complementary football, and it showed. The defense generated pressure with four, stole a possession with a key takeaway, and the special teams flipped field position. This wasn’t a highlight-reel blowout; it was a playoff-style win that matters when we talk about seeding and tie-breakers in January.
49ers flex again, reminding everyone who the bully is
The San Francisco 49ers walked into the weekend looking like the most complete team in football, and nothing in these NFL games today really changed that narrative. Kyle Shanahan’s offense rolled through its usual script: motion, misdirection, and a barrage of play-action that left linebackers guessing wrong more often than not.
Christian McCaffrey again looked like a cheat code, bouncing runs to the edge, slipping tackles in space, and staying heavily involved in the passing game, which keeps this unit on schedule. Brock Purdy handled the keys with the calm of a veteran, delivering timing throws to Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, and rarely putting the ball in harm’s way.
Defensively, the Niners pinned their ears back once they got a lead. The pass rush hunted in the second half, compressing the pocket and forcing hurried throws that led to drive-killing incompletions. When San Francisco gets to play from ahead, they look like the NFC’s measuring stick — the team everyone else has to game-plan against if they want to call themselves a true NFL Super Bowl contender.
Game-day chaos: Upsets, heartbreakers, and highlight plays
Beyond the headliners, the broader slate of NFL games today delivered the usual mix of chaos: late field goals, busted coverages, and a couple of brutal turnovers in the red zone that swung outcomes and, potentially, seasons.
One contender in particular got stunned by an underdog that refused to go away, trading punches all afternoon before stealing it late with a clutch drive inside the two-minute warning. The underdog QB worked the sidelines, managed the clock, and set up a walk-off field goal that may end up being the high point of their season — and a lowlight that haunts the losing locker room if they miss the postseason by a game.
Elsewhere, a struggling quarterback who had been under heavy scrutiny put together the kind of efficient, turnover-free performance his coaching staff has been begging for. Short, quick-game passes, decisive throws on early downs, and a heavy reliance on the run game took some weight off his shoulders and kept the pass rush honest. It was not flashy, but it was winning football, and the sideline’s body language said everything: relief, belief, and maybe a little bit of "We’re not done yet."
Defenses had their moments too. A pick-six in the first half flipped one game on its head, forcing a pass-heavy script for an offense that clearly preferred to lean on the ground game. Another game turned on a strip-sack in the fourth quarter, with a blindside hit knocking the ball loose and a defensive lineman falling on it just outside field goal range. Those are the plays that don’t just win days; they shape seasons.
Playoff Picture: Seeds, streaks, and teams on the bubble
With this week’s results in the books, the NFL playoff picture tightened once again. The No. 1 seed race in both conferences remains wide open, but a few teams have clearly separated at the top while a crowded middle class is scrapping for every wild card inch.
Here’s a compact look at the current division leaders and top wild card contenders based on today’s outcomes and the latest standings across the league. Records and seeds are reflective of the most recent completed game week, as listed on the official league and network sites.
| Conference | Seed | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 1 | Ravens / Chiefs tier | Fighting for No. 1 seed |
| AFC | 2-4 | Division leaders cluster | Home playoff games in sight |
| AFC | 5-7 | Wild Card mix | On the bubble, razor-thin margins |
| NFC | 1 | 49ers | Front-runner for home-field |
| NFC | 2-4 | Top challengers | Chasing first-round bye |
| NFC | 5-7 | Wild Card chase | Stacked, tiebreakers looming |
In the AFC, the path to the top seed still runs through the heavyweights. The Ravens and Chiefs both look like they can win in multiple ways — grinding defensive battles or shootouts where the quarterback has to throw 35-plus times. That versatility matters when weather, injuries, and matchups start to shift the style of games in December and January.
The wild card race in the AFC, though, is becoming a weekly survival contest. Several teams are hovering around .500, with head-to-head tiebreakers already looming large. One loss on a short week or a slip-up in a so-called "should win" game might be the difference between sneaking in as the 7-seed and watching the playoffs from the couch.
In the NFC, the 49ers’ combination of elite defense, multiple weapons on offense, and experienced coaching has them in prime position for the No. 1 seed. Behind them, a cluster of contenders is jockeying for position, knowing full well that a trip through Santa Clara in January is not the path you want if you can avoid it.
The NFC wild card picture remains chaotic. Teams with explosive offenses but suspect defenses are trying to outscore problems every week, while more balanced but less dynamic squads are hoping consistency carries the day. It feels like we’re a week or two away from a major shakeup — a key injury, a cold-weather upset, or a head-to-head statement that reshapes the bracket.
MVP race: Mahomes, Lamar, McCaffrey and the shifting spotlight
The MVP race has become a weekly referendum. Every performance from the top names gets magnified, every off day becomes a talking point. After NFL games today, the conversation still runs through the familiar faces: Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Christian McCaffrey are all firmly on the radar.
Mahomes continues to build his case not just on numbers but on how he wins. It is the combination of arm talent, pocket presence, and situational execution that jumps off the tape. Big throws on third-and-long, red zone efficiency when it matters most, and a near-automatic two-minute drill when the Chiefs need points before halftime or in the fourth quarter.
Lamar’s resume leans heavily on his total impact. Even when the raw passing yardage does not lead the league, the damage he does with his legs and the way defenses are forced to play him — stacked boxes, spies, and shallow zones that open up intermediate windows — is MVP-level gravity. Teammates keep saying, paraphrased, "When he’s rolling, everybody feeds off it." That energy matters.
Then there is McCaffrey, who might be the most valuable non-quarterback in the league. His touchdowns, explosive plays, and versatility as both a rusher and receiver make the 49ers’ offense almost impossible to key on. Linebackers cannot sit on run fits without getting torched in the flats, and safeties cannot play too deep without inviting Shanahan to pound the rock.
Other names will cycle in and out of the MVP chatter as the season closes — explosive receivers, pass-rush terrors stacking double-digit sacks, and other quarterbacks putting together hot streaks. But right now, with the weight of these NFL games today shaping narratives, Mahomes, Lamar, and McCaffrey are setting the pace.
Injury report: Thin margins and brutal breaks
The other shadow looming over the league is the NFL injury report. Each week chips away at depth charts, and this slate was no different. A couple of key receivers were banged up, an offensive tackle left with a lower-body issue, and at least one starting cornerback did not finish the game due to a soft-tissue concern.
Coaches were predictably cautious in their postgame updates, labeling many players as day-to-day or set for further testing. That is standard language, but the reality is simple: late-season injuries to top playmakers and linemen can swing the NFL playoff picture almost as much as any single loss.
For teams like the Chiefs, Ravens, and 49ers, staying relatively healthy might be the hidden edge in the Super Bowl race. For bubble teams, one more key injury at quarterback, left tackle, or corner could be the difference between making a late push and simply running out of gas.
Next week’s must-watch slate and Super Bowl implications
If this week’s NFL games today felt like a preview, next week has the look of a full-on postseason trailer. Several matchups on the upcoming schedule already stand out as must-watch, with division titles, tiebreakers, and the broader playoff seeding on the line.
Expect at least one prime-time showdown where Mahomes or Lamar Jackson will again be on center stage, facing defenses lately built specifically to slow them down. These are the kind of games that swing MVP votes and reset national narratives on a single night.
In the NFC, another heavyweight test for the 49ers is looming. How they handle physical fronts and disguised coverages in back-to-back weeks will tell us a lot about whether anyone can realistically knock them off the NFC pedestal, or if we are watching the clear favorite to return to the Super Bowl.
There are also sneaky-good games between wild card hopefuls that may not grab casual headlines but will have massive tiebreaker significance. If you care about the full NFL playoff picture or you are tracking which under-the-radar team might turn into a January problem, those are the games to circle.
So the mission for fans is simple: keep your Sundays wide open, do not sleep on the late window, and make sure you are locked into the NFL games today and every week from here on out. The margin between hosting a playoff game and being out of the bracket entirely is shrinking with every snap, and we are firmly in the part of the calendar where every possession can feel like a season on the line.
From MVP race drama and wild card chaos to the battle for the No. 1 seeds, the energy around the league is surging. However the bracket eventually shakes out, the teams that handled the pressure in these late-season NFL games today will be the ones we are still talking about deep into January.
