NFL Games Today: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and 49ers Surge Shake Up Super Bowl Race
17.01.2026 - 19:41:58
It felt like January in midseason. NFL games today did more than fill a Sunday slate – they redrew the playoff map, juiced the MVP race and reminded everyone why the margin for error in this league is razor thin. Patrick Mahomes went full surgeon, Lamar Jackson answered with his own primetime statement, and the San Francisco 49ers played bully ball again to look every inch like a Super Bowl contender.
[Check live NFL scores & stats here]
Mahomes reasserts Chiefs as AFC measuring stick
Start with the headliner: Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs reminded everyone why Arrowhead remains the AFC’s house of pain. Against a playoff-caliber defense, Mahomes stacked yards in rhythm, ripped throws into tight windows and lived in the Red Zone. He spread the ball to his full arsenal, with Travis Kelce working the middle like a power forward in space and Rashee Rice flashing as a true WR1.
Kansas City’s offense had been questioned for stretches this season – stalled drives, drops, miscommunication. On this latest Sunday, it clicked. Mahomes finished with well over 250 passing yards, multiple touchdowns and, most importantly for Andy Reid, no back-breaking mistakes. His pocket presence was vintage: sliding away from edge pressure, climbing into throwing lanes and punishing late rotations with seam shots.
Defensively, Steve Spagnuolo dialed up heat. Timely blitzes forced the opposing quarterback off his spot, and the Chiefs secondary jumped routes in the short game. A second-half interception in the flat – nearly a pick-six – swung momentum for good. It was the kind of complementary football Kansas City has been hunting all year.
Mahomes will never say it publicly, but performances like this matter in the MVP conversation. In a season with no runaway statistical leader, stacking efficient wins against playoff hopefuls is exactly how you climb the board.
Lamar Jackson keeps Ravens in the driver’s seat
If the Chiefs reminded everyone they are still here, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens doubled down on their own claim to the AFC throne. In a game that felt like a playoff dress rehearsal, Jackson showcased every layer of his evolution: command at the line of scrimmage, patience from the pocket and that signature ability to turn broken plays into back-breaking explosives.
Baltimore’s offense was balanced and ruthless. Jackson picked up key first downs with his legs on third-and-long, then punished aggressive safeties with deep shots off play-action. Multiple touchdown drives covered 70-plus yards, draining the clock and the will of a defense that simply had no answer once Baltimore got into field goal range.
The Ravens’ defense, meanwhile, continues to look like a unit built for January. They generated consistent pressure with a four-man rush, collapsing the pocket and forcing hurried throws. One strip-sack in the third quarter flipped the field and set up an easy score, exactly the sort of swing play that can decide a divisional-round game.
Ask around locker rooms and you hear the same thing: nobody wants to tackle this Ravens run game in the cold. That is the underlying reason why their NFL league position matters so much. If the AFC runs through Baltimore, the Ravens immediately become a Super Bowl favorite.
49ers bully ball, Eagles gut-check and NFC power balance
Out West, the San Francisco 49ers continued to look like the team nobody in the NFC wants to see. Kyle Shanahan had his offense humming again – pre-snap motion, misdirection, and that physical run game that turns three-yard gains into body blows. Christian McCaffrey carved up another defense with a mix of inside-zone bursts and angle routes out of the backfield, staying very much in the MVP race conversation despite the quarterback-heavy narrative.
Brock Purdy did what he does best: operate with ruthless efficiency. He looked comfortable in the pocket, hit timing routes in stride and took calculated shots to Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel whenever safeties cheated forward. He doesn’t have Mahomes’ improvisational flair or Lamar’s electricity, but his tape right now screams control and confidence.
Defensively, Nick Bosa and the 49ers front four dictated terms. Multiple sacks, constant pressure and suffocating run fits forced their opponent into predictable passing situations. Once San Francisco gets you behind the sticks, you are at their mercy – and they know it.
Over in the East, the Philadelphia Eagles were dragged into a street fight and survived. Jalen Hurts played through contact, absorbing hits on designed runs and still making clutch throws in the two-minute drill. Philadelphia did not dominate, but they closed – and in a long NFL season, stacking ugly wins is as important as blowouts.
The result: the NFC playoff picture remains a two-headline story – the 49ers’ sheer dominance and the Eagles’ resilience. With the Dallas Cowboys pushing from behind and at least one upstart wild card lurking, the conference feels heavy at the top but anything but settled.
Game-changing upsets and wild-card chaos
Every NFL week needs one result that makes you double-check the score ticker. This slate delivered. A supposed bottom-feeder punched a playoff aspirant square in the mouth, pulling off an upset that will resonate in the wild card race.
The underdog defense came out fearless – heavy blitz, single-high looks, and a willingness to live with one-on-one matchups outside. They snatched an early interception, then flipped the field again with a special-teams return that set up a short-field touchdown. Suddenly a game that should have been comfortable for the favorite turned into a four-quarter street fight.
On the other side, the favored offense never settled. Penalties in the Red Zone, dropped passes on third down and conservative play-calling in plus territory kept the door open. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, all that was left was a desperate two-minute drive, a sack that pushed them out of field goal range and a stunned sideline watching the clock bleed out.
For the loser, this is the kind of result that can haunt a season. In a crowded AFC and NFC wild card field, tie-breakers are everything. Dropping a game like this against a non-contender can be the difference between playing on Wild Card Weekend and cleaning out lockers in early January.
Playoff picture: who controls the bracket?
Zoom out from the individual NFL games today and you get the real story: leverage. Seeds, tie-breakers, head-to-head records – they all tightened across the board. At the top, the usual suspects are still holding serve, but there is real movement in the wild card lanes and on the bubble.
Here is a compact look at the current snapshot of division leaders and the hottest wild card contenders, based on the latest standings from NFL.com and ESPN:
| Conference | Seed | Team | Record | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 1 | Ravens | Best in AFC | No. 1 seed, home-field edge |
| AFC | 2 | Chiefs | Top of West | Chasing bye week |
| AFC | 3 | South Leader | Over .500 | Division in tight race |
| AFC | 4 | East Leader | Over .500 | Fending off challengers |
| AFC | 5-7 | Wild Card mix | Clustered records | On the bubble every week |
| NFC | 1 | 49ers | Best in NFC | Control home-field race |
| NFC | 2 | Eagles | Top of East | One slip from losing bye |
| NFC | 3 | North Leader | Comfortable edge | Closing on division title |
| NFC | 4 | South Leader | At or near .500 | Division still wide open |
| NFC | 5-7 | Wild Card logjam | Similar records | Every loss is a gut punch |
Labels aside, the story is straightforward. In the AFC, the Ravens and Chiefs have real separation as Super Bowl contenders, but a single slip could shuffle the entire bracket. In the NFC, the 49ers and Eagles are jostling for the No. 1 seed while a deep second tier (including the Cowboys and a resurgent North power) makes the wild card picture brutal.
For teams in that 5–7 seed band and just outside it, the margin for error is gone. One more misstep and “NFL playoff picture” talk turns from scenarios and tiebreakers to mock drafts.
MVP radar: Mahomes, Lamar, CMC and the chasing pack
Every big Sunday reshapes the MVP race, and this slate was no exception. Mahomes and Lamar both posted the kind of all-around days that resonate with voters – not necessarily gaudy yardage totals, but command performances in high-leverage NFL games today.
Mahomes’ line – solid passing yardage, multiple touchdowns, clean sheet in the turnover column – is exactly what you expect from a quarterback carrying a contender. His situational excellence stood out: red-zone efficiency, third-down conversion throws and one scramble to move the chains on what could have been a stalled drive. That is the kind of detail coaches obsess over and voters increasingly appreciate.
Lamar, meanwhile, continues to stack a different kind of resume. His passing totals are strong enough, but it is the dual-threat chaos that breaks defenses. On one drive he converted with a laser on an in-breaking route; on the next, he broke contain on a designed read and glided for a chunk gain that never shows up as a highlight-reel bomb but absolutely guts a defense.
Then there is Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers star keeps churning out touchdowns and all-purpose yardage. Rushing between the tackles, bouncing outside, working as a receiver on choice routes – he is the engine of Shanahan’s attack. Voters tend to lean quarterback, but if any non-QB is going to crack the top of the ballot, it is McCaffrey, especially if San Francisco locks down the No. 1 seed.
Behind those three, you still have Jalen Hurts grinding out wins, a couple of stat-heavy quarterbacks putting up big passing totals on less complete teams, and maybe one defensive star making noise with double-digit sacks and splash plays. But after the latest round of NFL games today, Mahomes, Lamar and CMC sit firmly on the first line of any MVP discussion.
Injury report: who took the biggest hit?
No Sunday comes without a price. The NFL injury report coming out of today will have real playoff implications. Several contenders saw core starters dinged up – a wide receiver limping to the locker room after a nasty sideline hit, a starting cornerback entering the blue tent, a key offensive lineman staying down a beat too long after a pile-up.
Coaches will downplay it publicly – “day-to-day,” “we will see how he responds,” “next man up” – but the reality is stark. Losing a top corner can flip an entire defensive identity, turning an aggressive press unit into a soft-zone group trying not to get burned. Losing a starting tackle against a loaded pass rush can force quarterbacks into quick-game shells and eliminate deep shots altogether.
For teams like the Ravens, Chiefs, 49ers and Eagles, health might be the only real weakness. All four rosters are built to win now. A single high-ankle sprain or hamstring tweak at the wrong position, and suddenly the NFL Super Bowl contender label looks a little more fragile.
Quarterbacks under pressure and coaches on the hot seat
On the other end of the spectrum, some quarterbacks woke up Monday with a very different kind of pressure. Another pair of multi-turnover performances today will reboot the perennial conversations: is it the scheme, the supporting cast or the guy under center?
One struggling starter threw an ugly red-zone interception – staring down his receiver on a slant that a lurking linebacker jumped for an almost effortless pick. Another missed a wide-open go ball that would have flipped a game script. The box score might show decent yardage in garbage time, but the tape tells the story: late reads, shaky pocket presence and poor situational awareness.
That bleeds directly into the coaching conversation. You can feel the heat building on a couple of head coaches. Clock mismanagement in the two-minute warning, conservative punts from plus territory, wasted timeouts early in the half – these decisions pile up. When paired with another loss, it absolutely puts jobs in play.
Front offices cannot ignore the optics of empty seats, postgame boos and frustrated veterans at the podium talking about “execution” and “details.” At some point, the message wears thin. If the current trajectory continues, this could be the week where the first real coaching shake-up chatter turns into something more concrete.
Looking ahead: must-watch games next week
So where does this leave us heading into the next slate of NFL games? The schedule-makers got exactly what they wanted: heavyweight showdowns with real seeding leverage and prime-time stages for the league’s biggest names.
Circle the next Chiefs matchup – especially if it comes against another AFC contender fighting for wild card positioning. Mahomes will once again be the focal point, and every throw will be framed through the dual lenses of playoff seeding and the MVP race.
Put a star on the Ravens’ next test as well. Can Lamar Jackson keep Baltimore in the No. 1 seed conversation, or will a physical opponent drag them into a trap game? Every snap now matters for home-field advantage, and that changes how both coordinators call games, from aggressiveness on fourth down to how much designed run is left on Lamar’s plate.
In the NFC, the looming 49ers and Eagles tilts – both against playoff-caliber opponents and within the conference – will be appointment viewing. If San Francisco keeps bullying teams at the line of scrimmage, the path to the Super Bowl might run straight through Levi’s Stadium. If the Eagles keep escaping close games, they might just ride that clutch gene through another deep postseason run.
And for the wild card hopefuls, everything is a must-win from here. Division games take on a playoff feel. Road trips to cold-weather stadiums become character tests. One big road win can flip tiebreakers and restore belief. One more bad Sunday and the season quietly fades into “what if.”
The bottom line: the NFL games today did not just fill a schedule, they redefined urgency. The playoff picture is tightening, the NFL injury report will shape game plans, and the MVP conversation now clearly runs through Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Christian McCaffrey. If this is how the league looks in the middle of the grind, the real thing in January is going to be a riot. Do not wait for the postseason to lock in – the stakes are already here.
