NFL Standings shake-up: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Eagles rewrite the NFL playoff race
31.01.2026 - 00:04:24
The NFL Standings just got a full-blown shake-up as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, plus Lamar Jackson and the Ravens put their stamp on a wild week that felt more like January than the regular season. With every snap, the NFL playoff picture twisted, Super Bowl contender credentials were tested, and the MVP race took another sharp turn under the primetime lights.
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In a weekend packed with heartbreakers and statement wins, the NFL Standings now tell a story of razor-thin margins. One red-zone turnover, one missed field goal, one busted coverage for a 60-yard bomb – that is the difference between controlling a division and scrambling in the wild card race. The Chiefs and Ravens flexed their experience, the Eagles survived another thriller, and several so-called dark-horse Super Bowl contenders either came of age or got exposed.
Mahomes turns it on late, Chiefs remind AFC who is king
Patrick Mahomes once again showed why every defensive coordinator loses sleep when he has the ball with the game on the line. Kansas City trailed deep in the second half before Mahomes took over, stringing together clutch third-down conversions and extending plays outside the pocket. He carved through coverage with that familiar backyard-football rhythm, finding Travis Kelce and a rotating cast of receivers to flip the game.
The Chiefs offense was far from perfect early – stalled drives in the red zone and a rare miscommunication on a route kept things tight – but when the scoreboard and the clock got real, Mahomes answered. His late touchdown drive, capped by a laser in the back of the end zone, swung not just the game but the entire AFC playoff picture. With the win, Kansas City strengthened its grip near the top of the conference and sent a message to every aspiring AFC Super Bowl contender: the road still runs through Arrowhead.
Defensively, Kansas City brought heat. The pass rush collapsed the pocket with timely blitzes, forcing hurried throws and a critical pick-six that flipped momentum. In a league where explosive offenses dominate headlines, the Chiefs defense continues to be one of the quiet anchors of their push toward another Lombardi.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens look like a complete Super Bowl contender
Lamar Jackson played like a man in full control of both the offense and the moment. He was lethal from the pocket and devastating when plays broke down, ripping off chunk runs on designed keepers and scrambles when the edges lost contain. The Ravens offense stayed balanced, mixing downhill runs with quick-game throws that kept the chains moving and the pass rush on its heels.
Jackson spread the ball to multiple targets, showing the kind of field vision and patience that fuel MVP race conversations. A perfectly dropped deep shot down the sideline and a tight-window strike on a third-and-long kept a key touchdown drive alive, silencing the road crowd and pushing Baltimore into prime seeding position in the AFC. In the current NFL Standings, the Ravens now sit firmly in that top-seed conversation, which would run the AFC playoffs through a frenzied M&T Bank Stadium.
The Baltimore defense, meanwhile, looked every bit like the unit built for cold-weather football. They generated consistent pressure with four, finished plays with sacks when they got home, and forced a red-zone interception that yanked potential points off the board. Opposing offenses are discovering that against this Ravens group, every trip inside the 20 feels like a survival test.
Eagles win another thriller, but cracks are showing
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles walked out with another W, but Philadelphia fans probably aged a decade watching it. The offense sputtered early, with protection breakdowns and stalled drives that kept the opponent hanging around. Yet when it was time to answer, Hurts rose to the moment, delivering a series of precise throws on deep crossers and tight slants that fueled a fourth-quarter surge.
The connection with A.J. Brown remains one of the league’s most unguardable weapons. Brown bullied his way through contact, moved the chains on contested catches, and opened up the middle of the field for Dallas Goedert to exploit. A late scoring drive, capped by a bruising Hurts keeper near the goal line, swung momentum back to the Eagles and preserved their climb near the top of the NFC playoff picture.
Still, the secondary continues to give up too many explosives. Missed tackles in space and communication lapses turned short gains into near game-breaking plays. Against elite quarterbacks in January, that is a dangerous formula. Right now, the NFL Standings paint the Eagles as a clear NFC Super Bowl contender, but the film shows a team walking a fine line between resilience and vulnerability.
NFL playoff picture: division leaders and wild card chaos
The top of the standings is starting to stabilize, but the wild card race is chaos in both conferences. One week you are a game out of a bye; the next you are on the outside, scoreboard-watching and praying for tiebreakers. The latest NFL Standings and results from this game week reshuffled the deck once again.
Here is a compact look at how the key spots shape up among the current division leaders and wild card hopefuls across the league:
| Conference | Seed | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 1 | Ravens | Control top seed, home-field in sight |
| AFC | 2 | Chiefs | Chasing bye, division firmly in hand |
| AFC | 5 | Wild Card contender | On pace, small margin for error |
| AFC | 7 | Bubble team | Needs help and clean football |
| NFC | 1 | Eagles | Lead race for home-field advantage |
| NFC | 2 | Top NFC challenger | Pushing for bye, division secure |
| NFC | 6 | Wild Card contender | Dangerous road playoff opponent |
| NFC | 7 | Bubble team | Living week-to-week |
The top seeds in both conferences now have a narrow but meaningful edge. For the Ravens and Eagles, every remaining home game carries double weight: win out and the path to the Super Bowl likely goes through their stadium. Slip once, and the Chiefs or another NFC heavyweight will be right there to snatch the bye and flip the bracket.
In the wild card hunt, the gap between fifth and ninth in each conference feels microscopic. One tipped-ball interception in the red zone, one missed 45-yard field goal in swirling wind – those are the plays that will decide who sneaks in on the final weekend.
MVP race: Mahomes, Lamar, Hurts and a late-charging field
The MVP race is starting to crystallize, and it runs straight through the league’s top seeds. Patrick Mahomes has stitched together another run of high-leverage brilliance, piling up big-time throws in the fourth quarter and keeping the Chiefs firmly in the Super Bowl conversation. His line from this week – efficient completions, multiple touchdowns and a flawless two-minute drill – reminded everyone that numbers are only part of his value; it is the timing and difficulty of his plays that tilt the field.
Lamar Jackson, though, is mounting a serious case. His dual-threat impact defines the Ravens offense. Defensive coordinators are stuck in a bind: drop seven and he will gash you with his legs; crowd the box and he will drop dimes over the top. Jackson’s box score this week – total yardage north of the 300 mark with multiple scores and key third-down conversions – backs up the eye test that he is playing the most complete ball of his career.
Jalen Hurts remains firmly in striking distance as well. Even on days when the Eagles offense looks clunky, he finds ways to impact the game, whether it is sneaking across the goal line in short-yardage, muscling through contact to extend plays, or rifling a tight-window throw on a critical third down. The MVP race is not just about stat-padding blowouts; it is about who carries their team in the heaviest moments. Right now, Mahomes, Jackson and Hurts all check that box.
Injury report and its impact on contenders
No week in the NFL reshapes the standings without the shadow of the injury report. Several key starters left games or entered the weekend already ruled out, forcing coaches to reshuffle depth charts and coordinators to rewrite game plans on the fly.
A star wideout’s lingering hamstring issue changed how his team attacked downfield, compressing the field and allowing safeties to cheat up against the run. A banged-up left tackle meant extra chips and quicker throws, limiting shot plays but keeping the quarterback upright. On defense, the absence of a lockdown corner forced more two-high shells and softer underneath zones, which an elite quarterback calmly dissected all afternoon.
For teams sitting on the edge of the playoff race, those injuries can be season-defining. One more week without a franchise quarterback or a defensive centerpiece can be the difference between locking up a wild card and spending January on the couch. Every updated injury report now reads less like a list and more like a referendum on each contender’s Super Bowl chances.
Game highlights: turning points from a wild week
Several moments will stick with fans long after this week’s box scores fade from the ticker. A clutch fourth-and-goal stop in the red zone, where a linebacker perfectly timed a gap shoot and met the running back in the hole, flipped an entire stadium from dread to delirium. Minutes later, a 50-plus-yard field goal drilled right down the middle at the two-minute warning triggered a roar that sounded like a playoff game.
Elsewhere, a young quarterback orchestrated a two-minute drill that felt like his personal coming-out party. Calm in the pocket, he slid away from pressure, hit the sideline routes to conserve time, and then dropped a back-shoulder strike at the front pylon to steal a win. Plays like that do not just move a team up the NFL Standings; they change how a locker room believes in its guy under center.
Defensively, a late pick-six was the dagger in another contest. Reading the quarterback’s eyes from the snap, the corner jumped a quick out, snatched the ball in stride, and cruised the other way as his sideline erupted. In a league defined by one-score games, those swing plays decide seasons.
Looking ahead: must-watch games and Super Bowl forecast
The next slate of games already feels loaded with playoff implications. A heavyweight AFC clash featuring the Chiefs against another contender will have direct consequences for the top seed and potential tiebreakers. The Ravens face a physical test that will challenge their offensive line and Lamar Jackson’s ability to stay clean in a collapsing pocket.
In the NFC, the Eagles head into a stretch that will decide whether they lock up home-field or get dragged into a dogfight for seeding. A primetime matchup against a surging challenger carries all the ingredients: playoff atmosphere, national spotlight and two coaching staffs emptying their playbooks. Expect creative blitz packages, aggressive fourth-down decisions and plenty of chatter on the sidelines.
Right now, the clearest Super Bowl favorites still look like the Ravens, Chiefs and Eagles, with a handful of dangerous outsiders lurking if they can get healthy and hot at the right time. But as this week reminded everyone, one upset, one miracle Hail Mary, one brutal injury and the entire NFL Standings board can tilt overnight.
For fans, that means one thing: clear your Sundays, lock in your Monday Night Football plans, and keep one eye glued to the live scores. The sprint to the playoffs is on, and every drive from here on out feels like a season hanging in the balance.
