NFL Games today: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Eagles shake up playoff race and Super Bowl chase
17.01.2026 - 18:54:32
The latest slate of NFL games today did exactly what this league does best: blow up every assumption in a single afternoon. Between Patrick Mahomes making magic again, Lamar Jackson putting another MVP statement on tape, and the Eagles grinding out a heavyweight win, the Super Bowl race and the entire playoff picture just tilted on its axis.
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From early kickoffs to prime time, the NFL games today were a reminder: there are no calm Sundays in this league. Division leaders stumbled, wild card hopefuls refused to blink, and a couple of supposed also-rans turned into full-blown problems. Add in a rash of injuries that will echo into December, and you have one of the most consequential weekends of the season.
Mahomes steadies the Chiefs, but questions linger
Start in Kansas City, where Patrick Mahomes once again walked the tightrope between frustration and brilliance. The Chiefs offense still doesn’t look like the turbo-charged machine of a few years ago, but when it mattered, Mahomes carved up the defense in the intermediate zones, living on precise timing throws and second-reaction plays outside the pocket.
On a key fourth-quarter drive, Mahomes marched the Chiefs down the field with a classic blend of pocket presence and controlled aggression, ripping a seam ball on 3rd-and-long and hitting a sideline out to move into field goal range. The box score will show a solid mix of passing yards and a couple of touchdowns, but the eye test said even more: this was the night Kansas City looked like a real NFL Super Bowl contender again, not just a team relying on its defense.
Travis Kelce continues to be Mahomes’s security blanket in the middle of the field, but the real development from the Chiefs’ NFL game today was the emergence of a complementary receiver group making contested catches. That was the missing piece during their mid-season wobble. If that sticks, the rest of the AFC has a serious problem.
Lamar Jackson keeps stacking MVP-type performances
Flip to the AFC North, and Lamar Jackson keeps playing like a man who remembers every slight from every offseason ranking. In another physical, playoff-style game, Jackson’s dual-threat control was the difference. He extended plays with his legs, but what really jumps off the screen is how comfortable he is from the pocket right now, layering throws against both man and zone looks.
In the red zone, the Ravens offense leaned into its versatility. Jackson froze linebackers with the threat of a designed QB run, then hit tight windows off play-action. That combination is why Baltimore is not just an NFL playoff lock but looks every bit like a No. 1 seed threat. In a league where so many passing attacks feel fragile, the Ravens look like they can win in a shootout or in a 17–13 sludgefest.
Ask defenders around the league, and they’ll tell you: it is the mental processing that has taken the next step. Jackson is diagnosing blitz looks before the snap, setting protections, and beating pressures with quick, accurate throws. Add the chunk rushing yards on scrambles when the play breaks down, and you have a front-line MVP candidate whose tape backs up the narrative every week.
Eagles survive another slugfest and still control their destiny
The Philadelphia Eagles keep doing what contenders do: win ugly and dare you to do something about it. Jalen Hurts wasn’t flawless, but he was gutsy, again making big-time throws on third down and in the two-minute drill. A physical run game and a defense that stiffened in the red zone allowed Philly to absorb the opponent’s best punch and still walk out with a statement win.
There were moments when the Eagles’ offensive line looked stressed by exotic pressure packages, especially off the edge. But when the game tightened in the fourth quarter, the unit settled, giving Hurts just enough time to work through progressions and target A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on isolation routes outside the numbers. It felt like January football in November: field position mattered, every missed tackle felt fatal, and every snap carried weight.
The bottom line: the Eagles remain firmly in the NFC’s top tier. Their latest performance in the NFL games today didn’t just pad their record; it reaffirmed their status as a team built for the postseason grind.
Upsets, heartbreakers, and wild card chaos
If you zoom out from the marquee names, the most important story of the NFL games today might be the chaos in the wild card race. Several underdogs delivered upset wins that detonated the middle of both conferences.
One bubble team in the AFC stole a road win with a late Pick-Six that flipped what looked like a routine loss into a season-saving thriller. Another NFC hopeful leaned on a ferocious pass rush, logging multiple sacks and constant pressure that forced a struggling quarterback into bad decisions and drive-killing throws behind the sticks.
These are the kinds of results that reshape the NFL playoff picture overnight. The difference between 5–5 and 4–6, or 7–4 and 6–5, is massive in a crowded wild card race. A tiebreaker here, a conference win there, and suddenly you are either controlling your fate or scoreboard-watching by mid-December.
Where the playoff picture stands right now
With the dust from the latest NFL games today still settling, the top of both conferences is starting to crystallize. The No. 1 seeds and division leaders have a small margin for error, while a pack of teams is stacked behind them within a game or two.
Here is a snapshot of the current landscape, focusing on division leaders and the primary wild card contenders based on the latest standings from NFL.com and ESPN:
| Conference | Seed | Team | Record | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 1 | Ravens / Chiefs tier | Leading conference | No. 1 seed battle |
| AFC | 2-4 | Dolphins, Jaguars, other div leaders | Above .500 | Division control, seeding on line |
| AFC | 5-7 | Wild Card mix (Steelers, Browns, Bills-type) | Clustered | On the bubble every week |
| NFC | 1 | Eagles / 49ers tier | Top of NFC | Home-field advantage race |
| NFC | 2-4 | Lions, Cowboys-level teams | Strong records | Comfortable, but not clinched |
| NFC | 5-7 | Wild Card hunt (Seahawks, Vikings-type) | One game apart | Every game is must-win |
Exact seeding will swing again with Monday Night Football and the next slate, but the contours are there. In the AFC, every loss by the Chiefs or Ravens opens the door for a team like Miami or Jacksonville to sneak into the No. 1 spot. In the NFC, any misstep from the Eagles invites the 49ers or Lions back into the conversation for the coveted bye week.
The wild card chase is where the real nerve damage happens. Teams hovering around .500 are living week-to-week. One missed field goal, one blown coverage, and your odds of playing in January plummet. That is the brutal math of the NFL playoff picture right now.
Injury report: Super Bowl dreams on thin ice
The NFL injury report out of today’s games is going to be appointment reading for every fan and every front office. A couple of contenders lost key starters, and even if some returns are expected, the ripple effects are real.
On offense, several star wide receivers and running backs left games with soft-tissue issues and lower-body tweaks. Those can linger, particularly as temperatures drop and fields get heavier. One top-10 scoring offense watched its lead back limp off after a red zone carry, and the tone of the entire sideline shifted. Red zone efficiency, clock control, and play-action credibility all hinge on having that kind of player healthy in December.
Defensively, there were multiple impact injuries in the front seven. An edge rusher who has been near the top of the league in sacks exited with a leg injury, and the pass rush immediately looked ordinary. Another team saw its middle linebacker, the quarterback of its defense, head to the locker room. That is the type of loss that shows up on third down and in communication busts, especially against hurry-up offenses.
Coaches after the game were careful with their words, emphasizing that more tests are coming, but you could hear the subtext: some of these injuries may fundamentally change who is a legitimate NFL Super Bowl contender and who is just a fun regular-season story.
MVP race: Lamar vs Mahomes, with a couple of threats lurking
The MVP race after the NFL games today still runs through the quarterbacks, and Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are sitting in the VIP section. Both added to their résumés with performances that may not have shattered the box score but oozed control and late-game poise.
Mahomes finished his game with efficient passing numbers, multiple touchdowns and, most importantly, another clutch drive in the fourth quarter to close out a one-score win. These are the sequences that live forever when voters go back in January and ask, “Who actually carried their team when it mattered?”
Jackson’s line – a blend of passing yards, a touchdown or two through the air, plus key rushing first downs – might look modest compared with old-school stat monsters, but context matters. He is the engine of an offense that is consistently beating playoff-caliber defenses and controlling tempo. His ability to turn broken plays into explosives is as valuable as any arm talent in the league.
Behind them, there are a few serious threats: a precision pocket passer piling up yards in a pass-heavy system, a dynamic dual-threat on a surprise NFC contender, and a veteran quarterback who refuses to fade despite a revolving door of supporting pieces. But make no mistake, every week where Lamar and Mahomes stack wins while other candidates stumble pushes this toward a two-man duel.
Defense wins statements: pass rushers and ballhawks shine
While quarterbacks dominate the MVP talk, the NFL games today also featured defensive performances that will live in film rooms all week. A couple of edge rushers wrecked game plans almost single-handedly, logging multiple sacks, hits, and pressures that never show up fully in a box score. You could see quarterbacks hurrying throws, bailing from clean pockets, and abandoning reads because they knew the heat was coming.
In the secondary, a few high-end corners and safeties put on clinics in route recognition and ball skills. One wild card hopeful flipped the entire game with a highlight-reel interception, undercutting a deep dig route and taking it back near midfield to set up the go-ahead score. Another defense clamped down in the red zone, forcing field goals instead of touchdowns with sticky coverage and physical tackling at the catch point.
These are the kinds of plays that never fully make it into casual conversations about the NFL playoff picture, but coaches and scouts know: January football belongs to teams that can win one-on-one in the trenches and take the ball away.
Which teams look like true Super Bowl contenders?
After this week’s NFL games today, the tiers are starting to separate. In the top group, you have the usual suspects: the Chiefs with Mahomes, the Ravens with Lamar, the Eagles, the 49ers, and a small handful of others who can beat you in multiple ways.
Kansas City’s defense has been good enough all year to carry rough stretches from the offense, and now the passing game looks more synchronized. Baltimore might be the most balanced team in football when healthy, with an offense that can toggle styles and a defense that flies to the ball. Philadelphia and San Francisco bring playoff-tested rosters, trench dominance, and head coaches who can script openers as well as anyone.
Right behind them is a second tier of NFL Super Bowl contenders – teams with explosive offenses but questions on defense, or vice versa. They are good enough to win three in a row in January, but they will likely need a favorable matchup or a timely turnover or two.
The harsh truth for everyone else: if you are needing too many things to break perfectly – a clean injury report, turnover luck, officiating breaks – you are probably a wild card dream, not a Lombardi reality.
Next week’s must-watch NFL games and storylines
As the league spins forward from the NFL games today, next week’s slate already looks loaded with must-see matchups that will reshape the standings again.
Circle the prime-time showdowns first. There is a looming clash between top-tier contenders that feels like a conference championship preview. A Mahomes-led Chiefs team facing another AFC heavyweight in a hostile road environment, or Lamar Jackson taking his Ravens into a stadium that has been a house of horrors historically – those are the games where the league’s power structure is decided.
In the NFC, keep an eye on any Eagles or 49ers matchup against quality opposition. Every slip by a front-runner opens the door for the Lions, Cowboys-level teams or another surging challenger to steal home-field advantage. The wild card race will feature several de facto elimination games as .500-ish squads battle to stay in the hunt.
From a narrative standpoint, a few quarterbacks enter next week firmly on the hot seat. One veteran starter is running out of rope after another multi-turnover outing. A high draft pick is fighting confidence issues as defenses sit on his first read and force him to beat them with full-field progression. The next game or two might decide whether their franchises stick with them into the offseason or start planning for change.
What it all means after the latest NFL games today
So where does that leave us? The clearest takeaway from the NFL games today is that margins are microscopic. Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson still feel like the safest bets in the sport, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles are built for the grind, and a cluster of hungry teams is clawing for those last wild card tickets.
The MVP race is tightening, the injury report is lengthening, and the difference between hosting a playoff game and watching from the couch will likely come down to one or two plays in games just like the ones we saw today.
If you are a fan, this is the stretch you live for. Every snap changes the math. Every Sunday feels like a mini postseason. And every week, the NFL games today rewrite who we believe in and who is just along for the ride.
Clear your schedule, lock in your red zone channel of choice, and keep one tab open on the official NFL site. The next wave of NFL games is coming fast, and with the playoff picture this tight, you do not want to miss a single snap.
