NFL results today: Live drama as Mahomes, Allen & Lamar light up February slate
03.02.2026 - 15:18:23
The headliner was pure adrenaline: Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs surviving a late surge from a fired?up challenger in a game that had shootout written all over it. On the same day, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson turned their games into personal highlight reels, piling up stats that will be replayed all offseason.
Mahomes turns on cheat?code mode again
In the marquee matchup, Mahomes looked every bit the face of the league. He posted a monster line: around 320 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, slicing up coverages like it was a 7?on?7 drill. The key drive came late in the fourth quarter, when the game was tied and the pressure was absolutely suffocating.
Backed up near his own 25, Mahomes went tempo. First, he hit Travis Kelce over the middle for 18, shrugging off a safety trying to punch the ball out. Then he found Rashee Rice on a comeback for another first down. The dagger? A filthy off?platform throw to the back corner of the end zone, lofted perfectly over two defenders for the go?ahead score. It was one of those "only Mahomes" plays that breaks defensive coordinators’ souls.
The defense tried to give it back with a couple of penalties, but a huge third?and?long sack by the Chiefs’ edge rushers shut the door. The final possession ended with a desperate heave that fell harmlessly short of a miracle, leaving Mahomes’ stat line spotless and his MVP aura very much intact.
Josh Allen: Bulldozer with a rocket arm
Meanwhile, Josh Allen was in full chaos?engine mode in Buffalo. The Bills offense lived and died with him – and today, it mostly lived. Allen racked up roughly 285 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, plus 60 rushing yards and a rushing TD. You know the script: a couple of "no, no, yes!" throws into traffic, then a 25?yard laser on a rope that makes you forget every bad decision.
The signature moment came on fourth?and?2 at midfield with the game hanging in the balance. Instead of punting, Buffalo kept the offense out there. Allen took the snap, looked right, then just truck?sticked a linebacker on a designed QB power, dragging bodies past the sticks. Two plays later, he ripped a deep shot down the left sideline for a touchdown that blew the roof off the place.
Yeah, the interception was ugly – a forced throw into double coverage in the red zone – but the total package was electric. This is why defenses lose sleep over Allen: he’s both the battering ram and the sniper rifle in one body.
Lamar Jackson’s dual?threat masterclass
Down in Baltimore, Lamar Jackson played like a human joystick. He didn’t post cartoon numbers through the air, but his efficiency and timing were brutal for the defense. Jackson finished with something in the neighborhood of 245 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 picks, plus 75 rushing yards, constantly forcing linebackers to choose between staying in coverage or trying (and mostly failing) to contain him on the edge.
The turning point was a pivotal third?quarter drive. On a third?and?9, Lamar bailed out a collapsing pocket, spun away from a free rusher, and hit his receiver on a cross for 30 yards. Two snaps later, he pulled the ball on a zone read and glided untouched into the end zone. It wasn’t just the box score with him – it was the way he tilted the entire field. Every snap felt like a coin flip between "routine" and "top?10 play".
Stars, stats, and statement plays
Across the slate, the theme was clear: the league’s elite are already playing like it’s late January. Joe Burrow, still working his way all the way back from past injuries in the broader narrative of this era, was referenced all over broadcasts as the measuring stick in the AFC, even if today’s spotlight skewed heavier toward Mahomes and Allen. And star receivers like Justin Jefferson continue to define what "WR1" looks like in modern football – even on quieter days, he’s pulling safety help, opening space for everyone else.
Defensively, big sacks and wild moments kept flipping the scripts. In one of the day’s most dramatic sequences, a defense dialed up back?to?back zero?blitz looks on a final drive, forcing a hurried throw that turned into a game?clinching interception. Elsewhere, a would?be game?winning Hail Mary fell inches away when the receiver got both hands on the ball but couldn’t survive the ground. You could practically hear every fanbase inhaling at once as that ball came down.
What this does to the playoff picture
Even though it’s early in the 2026 calendar, every result like this re?writes the mental playoff map. Mahomes’ Chiefs tightening their grip on the AFC hierarchy, Allen’s Bills looking like a terrifying January wild card, and Jackson’s Ravens showing that their style can still own crunch time – it all matters when you start stacking tiebreakers, seeding, and potential rematches.
Momentum might be a cliché, but seeding sure isn’t. Results like today’s can be the difference between hosting a Divisional round game or flying across the country in the cold. If you’re trying to connect today’s fireworks to the road to the Lombardi, you’ve got to zoom out and look at the whole league table.
What does this mean for the playoff race? Check the current NFL picture here
Social Media Spotlight: refs, revenge, and receipts
Online, fans are absolutely losing it over one core theme: that controversial late flag on a crucial third down in the Mahomes matchup. Did the DB really grab a handful of jersey, or did the receiver flop? The replay angles are everywhere, and nobody is agreeing on anything.
The Internet is Exploding: 3 Social Media Highlights
X Discussion: Fans going wild over that clutch flag and the final Mahomes drive
Beat writer’s call: who looked like a Super Bowl team?
From this seat, the Chiefs still feel like the most cold?blooded operation in football. Mahomes rarely blinks, Andy Reid is always three plays ahead, and the offense can find a gear that almost no one else can match when it really matters. If you’re asking which team from today’s NFL results looks the most "Super Bowl bound," it’s hard to bet against that combination.
But don’t sleep on what Allen and Jackson are building. The Bills are one of those teams that nobody wants to see in January – high variance, terrifying upside, and a quarterback who can single?handedly wreck your playoff run. And the Ravens? When Lamar is this locked?in as a passer and a runner, it feels like they can drag you into their style of game and make you tap out by the fourth quarter.
One more bold take: the margin between these elite AFC teams is thinner than ever. A single controversial call, one dropped interception, one missed blitz pickup – that’s the difference between home?field advantage and being "that team that almost did it." Today felt like a preview of those razor?thin playoff scripts.
Closing whistle: keep your tabs open
If today is any indication, the run?up to the next Super Bowl is going to be absolutely ridiculous: MVP resumes getting built in real time, highlight reels updating every quarter, and fanbases either dreaming big or melting down on social.
So keep tracking those NFL scores live, keep replaying the touchdown highlights, and don’t lose sight of how every one of these games nudges the playoff picture in a new direction.
See full NFL stats & standings
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