NFL Standings shake-up: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Eagles rewrite the playoff race
01.02.2026 - 08:05:00
The NFL Standings just took another hit of chaos, and it came courtesy of the league's biggest stars. Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and the Philadelphia Eagles turned a packed slate into a weekend of statement wins, gut-punch losses and a playoff picture that suddenly looks a whole lot different for every would-be Super Bowl contender.
Every drive felt like it had postseason weight. From Mahomes carving up coverages like it was January, to Lamar Jackson extending plays with that trademark pocket presence and burst, the top of the NFL Standings now has a very clear message: there is zero room for error if you are chasing a Wild Card spot.
[Check live NFL scores & stats here]
Mahomes reminds the league who still owns crunch time
The Chiefs came into the week hearing that their offense looked mortal, that defenses had figured out the spacing, that maybe the dynasty window was creaking. Then Mahomes stepped onto the field and detonated that narrative. He shredded coverages in the intermediate game, punished the blitz, and turned broken pockets into chunk plays downfield.
In a classic Arrowhead thriller, Mahomes ripped off drive after drive, staying calm in the two-minute drill and showing why he still terrifies defensive coordinators. Every time the opposition thought they had him backed into 3rd-and-long, he found Travis Kelce over the middle or hit a receiver on a deep crosser right at the sticks. In the Red Zone, it was vintage creativity: motion, misdirection, and that casual side-arm dart that has become his signature.
The impact on the NFL Standings is obvious. Kansas City not only strengthened its grip on the division but stayed firmly in the hunt for the AFC's No. 1 seed. In a conference where tiebreakers could decide home-field advantage, this felt less like a midseason win and more like a playoff seeding game played in October or November.
Inside the locker room, the mood matched the performance. Players talked about "resetting the standard" and "playing Chiefs football again." One assistant coach summed it up: when Mahomes finds his rhythm, everything else in the building falls into place.
Lamar Jackson turns another game into a personal highlight reel
On the other side of the AFC, Lamar Jackson once again looked like the most dangerous dual-threat player in football. He diced up coverages with efficient throws between the numbers, then broke the game open with his legs when the defense dared to sit in man coverage. One scramble past midfield, complete with a hesitation move that left a linebacker frozen in space, felt like a weekly reminder: you can scheme for Lamar, but you are never really ready for him.
His offense stayed on schedule, living in second-and-short thanks to a balanced ground attack and quick-game concepts that neutralized the pass rush. Inside the opponent's 20, every play felt like a coin flip between a dart over the middle and a designed keeper that stretched the edges. The scoreboard never turned into a blowout, but the control was obvious. It felt like a playoff atmosphere, and Lamar owned the tempo.
With that win, Baltimore kept itself firmly in the mix for the AFC's top seed and created more separation in its division. For the rest of the conference, it is a nightmare scenario: if this version of Lamar walks into January with a healthy roster, the road to the Super Bowl might run straight through his cleats.
Eagles grind out another statement win
In the NFC, the Eagles once again proved why they are built for cold-weather football and tight fourth quarters. Jalen Hurts took some hits, stayed in the pocket when it mattered and delivered strike after strike to move the chains. The ground game leaned on a physical offensive line that flat-out bullied defenders in short-yardage situations, converting critical 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 plays that kept drives alive and the defense on the sideline.
Defensively, Philadelphia's front four dominated the line of scrimmage. The pass rush collapsed the pocket repeatedly, forcing hurried throws and knocking the opposing quarterback off his spot. One key drive late in the third quarter was all about trench warfare: a sack on first down, a run stuffed on second and a tight-window incompletion on third that sent the punt team trotting onto the field while the crowd erupted.
This is exactly the kind of win that matters when you look at the NFL Standings in December. Style points do not count in the column; survival does. By closing out another one-score game, the Eagles tightened their grip on a top NFC seed and reminded everyone that their roster still looks like a complete Super Bowl contender from top to bottom.
How the playoff picture is shifting right now
Every week at this point is about the Playoff Picture, the Wild Card race and which teams have the depth to handle injuries, short weeks and cross-country travel. Postgame, you could feel coaches talking in postseason terms: "seeding," "home field," "controlling our own destiny." The margin for error is razor thin, especially in the AFC, where half the conference feels like it is hovering around .500 and one win can vault a team from the bubble to the bracket.
Across the league, Sunday delivered a few upsets that shook the ladder. A favored team got ambushed on the road, another watched a late lead disappear on a busted coverage and a missed field goal in the final seconds turned a comfortable playoff path into a week-to-week survival test. These are the losses that can flip tiebreakers months from now.
To frame just how tight this race is, here is a compact look at key spots in the current playoff chase, based on the latest results recorded through today.
| Conference | Seed | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 1 | Chiefs | Division leader, inside track for home field |
| AFC | 2 | Ravens | Chasing No. 1 seed, strong tiebreakers |
| AFC | 5 | Wild Card team | Top Wild Card, one game clear of the pack |
| AFC | 7 | Bubble team | Holding last spot, tiebreakers in play |
| NFC | 1 | Eagles | Conference leader, prime Super Bowl contender |
| NFC | 2 | Top NFC challenger | Pressuring for first-round bye |
| NFC | 6 | Wild Card team | Road playoff path likely |
| NFC | 7 | Bubble team | On the edge, must-win territory |
The exact seeding will continue to shuffle with every prime-time game, but the tiers are becoming clear. The true Super Bowl contenders are separating: teams like the Chiefs, Ravens and Eagles that can win shootouts or slugfests. Behind them is a messy middle class of squads living week-to-week, hanging around .500, trying to sneak into the Wild Card conversation and praying that their injury report does not grow longer on Wednesday.
MVP Race: Mahomes vs. Lamar (and everyone else chasing)
The MVP Race is officially in that stretch where one monster performance can swing national narratives. Right now, Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are sitting at the top of that conversation, with every box score dissected like a playoff game.
Mahomes continues to stack weeks full of efficient production and big-time moments. You see the numbers in the passing column, but it is the situational excellence that separates him. Third down, Red Zone, two-minute warning: he is dictating coverage, manipulating safeties with his eyes and hitting throws that most quarterbacks will not even attempt. Coaches call those "quarterback-made plays" – snaps where the scheme does not win, the player does.
Lamar, meanwhile, is doing something different: he is bending entire game plans around his skill set. Defenses are treating him like a running back, a deep-ball passer and a scramble threat all at once. Drives that look broken turn into highlight runs; plays that should be sacks become checkdowns that keep the sticks moving. Add in the fact that Baltimore is firmly in the mix for the top AFC seed, and you have the classic MVP formula: elite production plus elite team success.
There are others lurking on the MVP fringe – a hot-handed quarterback riding a streak of three straight 300-yard games, a receiver stacking double-digit catches and explosive plays, a pass rusher wrecking pockets with multi-sack afternoons – but the center of gravity right now is that Mahomes vs. Lamar axis at the top of the league.
Injury report shakes up Super Bowl paths
No conversation about the NFL Standings or the Super Bowl picture is complete without the weekly Injury Report. This weekend delivered more brutal reminders of how quickly a season can turn. A key wide receiver left with a soft-tissue injury and never returned, a starting left tackle limped off and did not come back, and a defensive playmaker entered the concussion protocol after a violent collision over the middle.
Coaches downplayed some of the damage postgame, using the familiar language: "day-to-day," "we will know more after the scans," "next man up." But behind closed doors, these are the moments that keep front offices awake at night. A lingering hamstring for a speed receiver changes how you threaten downfield. An injured blindside protector makes every third-and-long feel like a jailbreak. A missing star corner turns every deep shot into a coin flip you might lose.
For true Super Bowl contenders, the question is not just how good your stars are, but how healthy and deep you are when January hits. That is why midweek practice reports and Friday designations matter almost as much as Sunday box scores right now.
Must-watch games next week and what is at stake
Looking ahead, the schedule is serving up a handful of matchups that already feel like playoff games. A prime-time showdown featuring Mahomes is effectively an AFC seeding battle; win it and the Chiefs can keep pressure on the rest of the conference, lose it and the door swings wide open for another contender to steal the No. 1 seed.
Lamar Jackson gets another nationally spotlighted test against a defense that loves to blitz and crowd the line of scrimmage. That means more chances for off-script magic, but also more hits and more stress on the offensive line. A clean performance there will echo through the MVP discussion and the AFC Playoff Picture.
In the NFC, the Eagles face a physical opponent that can match them in the trenches. Expect a throwback feel: long drives, key third-down runs, field position battles and every special-teams snap feeling like it could swing the game. If Philadelphia walks out with another win, it will be hard to argue against them as the conference's top Super Bowl contender on paper and on film.
For bubble teams, next week is already must-win territory. One more loss could shove them out of the Wild Card race and into spoiler mode. Coaches will not say it out loud at the podium, but inside the building, everyone knows: the margin is gone, the runway is short and every mistake gets magnified.
So keep your schedule open. Lock in for the late-window kickoffs, stay up for Sunday Night Football and do not blink on Monday night. The NFL Standings are live ammunition right now, and every snap is another round fired in a race that is starting to look and feel exactly like January football.
