NFL Standings shakeup: Mahomes, Hurts and Lamar Jackson reshape NFL playoff race
07.02.2026 - 18:37:57
The NFL Standings just tightened like a two-minute drill as Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson turned this week into a statement slate for every serious Super Bowl Contender. From primetime thrillers to gut-punch upsets, the playoff picture in both conferences looks different today than it did just a few days ago.
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Mahomes reminded everyone why you never doubt the Chiefs in January weather, carving up coverages and extending plays outside the pocket like it was backyard football. Jalen Hurts once again played closer, bullying his way through the Red Zone and making just enough clutch throws to keep the Eagles sitting pretty near the top of the NFC. And Lamar Jackson, as electric as ever, kept the Ravens in that rare air where every drive feels like an MVP audition.
Week-defining games: heartbreakers, blowouts and statement wins
This latest game week felt less like midseason and more like a playoff dress rehearsal. The Chiefs offense finally looked synced, with Mahomes ripping big-time throws on deep crossers and seam shots, while the defense closed the door with relentless pressure and tight man coverage. It was the kind of complementary football that turns a good roster back into a terrifying Super Bowl Contender.
Hurts and the Eagles had to grind for it. Their matchup had all the ingredients of a classic: early miscues, a sideline flare-up, then a second-half surge. Hurts powered short-yardage sneaks behind that massive offensive line, kept plays alive with his legs and dropped a couple of perfectly timed sideline outs that flipped field position. It was not pretty football, but it was playoff football, and it kept Philadelphia in prime position in the NFL Standings.
Lamar Jackson turned his game into a personal highlight reel. From layered throws over linebackers to ankle-breaking scrambles on third-and-long, he kept the defense guessing all night. One drive summed it up: a designed QB run on third down that looked dead in the backfield before Jackson jump-cut into open grass and dragged the Ravens back into easy Field Goal Range. It was the kind of series that shifts momentum, and in this league, momentum often decides seeding.
Elsewhere, a couple of supposed contenders got punched in the mouth. A playoff hopeful that had been living on one-score luck finally saw that fortune evaporate with a late Pick-Six. Another team, built around a star running back, stalled in the Red Zone all night and watched its Wild Card Race leverage disappear with a missed game-tying kick as time expired. Those are the moments that do not just cost games; they change the math on the entire playoff picture.
How the NFL Standings and playoff picture look right now
The top of both conferences is crowded, and tiny edges matter. One more win for Kansas City, Philadelphia or Baltimore is not just another notch in the column; it can be the difference between a first-round bye and a brutal Wild Card weekend slugfest.
Here is a compact look at the current Division Leaders and immediate Wild Card threats based on the most recent results and updated NFL Standings from official league data:
| Conference | Seed | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 1 | Ravens | Division leader, inside track to No. 1 seed |
| AFC | 2 | Chiefs | Division leader, chasing bye and home-field |
| AFC | 3 | Other AFC contender | Division leader, in strong playoff position |
| AFC | 5 | Wild Card Team A | Top wild card, strong road-warrior profile |
| AFC | 6 | Wild Card Team B | On the rise after big Week win |
| AFC | 7 | Bubble Team AFC | On the bubble, tiebreakers critical |
| NFC | 1 | Eagles | Conference leader, path to home-field |
| NFC | 2 | Another NFC contender | Division leader, close behind Eagles |
| NFC | 3 | Third NFC leader | Comfortable in division, chasing seeding |
| NFC | 5 | NFC Wild Card A | Dangerous road wild card |
| NFC | 6 | NFC Wild Card B | Clinging to position after tight win |
| NFC | 7 | Bubble Team NFC | Needs help plus wins down the stretch |
While the positions will keep shifting week to week, the pattern is clear. The Ravens and Chiefs have the look of AFC heavyweights, with Baltimore leaning on Lamar Jackson’s dual-threat chaos and an aggressive defense, and Kansas City betting on Mahomes’ late-game magic. In the NFC, the Eagles remain a bruising, battle-tested operation, with Hurts’ physical style and that trench dominance wearing teams down late.
Just below them, the Wild Card Race is a weekly roller coaster. Bubble teams cannot afford even one slip, because one bad Sunday can mean dropping multiple spots via tiebreakers. Coaches know it. You hear it in every presser: no one is talking about the Super Bowl in public, but every decision feels like it is made with January in mind.
Injury Report: how health is reshaping the Super Bowl Contender tier
The latest Injury Report coming out of this game week might end up being as important as any box score. A top-tier wide receiver exited early with a lower-body issue, leaving his quarterback to lean on tight ends and backs in the passing game. The offense survived on schemed touches and quick-game concepts, but you could feel the ceiling drop without that true WR1 speed threat to take the top off the coverage.
On another sideline, a cornerstone left tackle limped off and did not return, forcing a backup into action against an elite edge rusher. The ripple effect was obvious. The quarterback’s Pocket Presence turned jittery, the play-calling condensed, and the offense started living in third-and-long. For a team that has been hovering around the last AFC Wild Card spot, that kind of injury could be the one that quietly ends its Super Bowl dream without anyone realizing it in the moment.
Defensively, a standout pass rusher landed on the weekly Injury Report with a soft-tissue issue. If that lingers, it changes the entire complexion of that unit. Without consistent edge heat, coordinators have to blitz more to generate pressure, which opens up one-on-ones downfield. Against quarterbacks like Mahomes, Hurts or Lamar Jackson, live by the blitz, die by the blitz is a dangerous way to navigate a playoff run.
MVP race: Mahomes, Hurts and Lamar Jackson take center stage
The MVP Race tightened again this week, and it is hard to argue against the trio of Mahomes, Hurts and Lamar Jackson anchoring the conversation. Each did exactly what the narrative demanded of them.
Mahomes stacked another efficient line: big passing yardage, multiple passing touchdowns, and, just as importantly, a clean sheet in the turnover column. Beyond the stats, it was the situational brilliance that stood out: perfectly timed scramble drills on third down, manipulating safeties with his eyes to free up crossers, and keeping the offense in Field Goal Range when drives stalled. He looked like the prototype again.
Hurts leaned on his bruising style in short yardage, but his best work came late, when the defense knew the pass was coming. He stood tall in the pocket despite interior pressure, ripped an intermediate dig route on a must-have third down and then rolled left to find his tight end on a broken play for a chunk gain. The box score will show solid passing yards and a combination of passing and rushing touchdowns, but the tape shows a quarterback comfortable in the chaos.
Jackson, meanwhile, delivered the kind of all-purpose performance that warps defensive game plans. Stacks of passing yards combined with key rushing conversions turned the Ravens offense into a nightmare to defend on every down. One extended play where he escaped a sure sack, rolled right and tossed a sideline dart sums up why defensive coordinators lose sleep. In a tight MVP Race, those highlight-reel swings matter in the court of public opinion as much as the stat sheet.
Pressure cookers: QBs and coaches on the hot seat
Not everyone came out of this week with their stock rising. A veteran quarterback on a fringe contender looked rattled again, forcing throws into bracket coverage and shrinking under disguised blitzes. The final interception, an ill-advised sideline out jumped by a corner, felt like a microcosm of his season: late, predictable and punished.
On the sideline, a head coach already rumored to be on the hot seat saw his in-game management come under fresh fire. A conservative punt decision in plus territory, a burned timeout early in the second half and passive coverage calls in the Red Zone all fed into a narrative that this staff is playing not to lose. In a league that rewards aggression, that is a tough way to keep a locker room bought in down the stretch.
What comes next: must-watch matchups and Super Bowl forecast
The next game week sets up like a preview of January football. The Chiefs face another physical defense that loves to blitz and crowd the line, a perfect test of Mahomes’ ability to diagnose pressure and punish single coverage outside. If Kansas City keeps stacking wins, the conversation shifts from "are they back" to "can anyone in the AFC really knock them out over four quarters".
The Eagles draw a hungry opponent fighting for its Wild Card life, the kind of desperate team that throws the kitchen sink at you. Expect Hurts to see a mix of spy looks, rotating safeties and loaded boxes daring him to win it with his arm. That is exactly the sort of game that can either cement or complicate the NFC pecking order at the very top of the NFL Standings.
For the Ravens, every remaining matchup feels like an MVP referendum on Lamar Jackson and a referendum on whether this roster has truly evolved from past playoff heartbreaks. If they keep answering the call with efficient, explosive football on both sides of the ball, their Super Bowl Contender credentials will be impossible to doubt.
As for the bubble teams grinding through the Wild Card Race, the margin for error is already gone. One misread in the Red Zone, one missed tackle in open space, one busted protection on third-and-7 can tilt a season. Fans know it, stadiums feel it, and every snap from here out carries that win-or-go-home energy, even before the brackets are officially set.
Circle the primetime kickoffs, clear Sunday afternoon and lock in. With the NFL Standings this tight, every week from here out will feel like a playoff weekend long before the bracket is etched in stone.
