NFL Standings shake-up: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Eagles steal the spotlight in wild playoff race
25.01.2026 - 13:35:31
The NFL standings are shifting again, and the playoff picture feels as wild as ever as Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and the Eagles keep reshaping the Super Bowl contender conversation. Every drive, every red zone trip and every busted coverage now feeds directly into seeding, tiebreakers and who gets that crucial first-round bye.
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This week felt like a mini postseason. Arrowhead, Philly, Baltimore, Dallas, San Francisco, Detroit, Miami – everywhere you looked, games carried January weight. Several division leaders were pushed to the brink, a couple of supposed Super Bowl contenders got punched in the mouth, and at least one hot-seat coach probably heard the clock get a little louder on the way into the locker room.
Game recap: Statement wins and gut-punch losses
The headliner came with the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes reminding everyone why you never bury a dynasty in November. After a shaky stretch, Mahomes carved up coverages with vintage pocket presence, extended plays with his legs and hit tight-window throws that looked straight off a highlight reel. The Chiefs offense finally looked like it found rhythm in the intermediate passing game, mixing quick outs, crossers and a revived run game to keep the chains moving.
Across the conference landscape, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens continued to look every bit like a Super Bowl contender. Jackson diced up the secondary with efficient passing, then broke the game open with designed quarterback runs and scrambles when the pocket collapsed. Baltimore’s defense backed him up by flying around at all three levels, closing space in the flat and punishing receivers over the middle.
In the NFC, the Eagles leaned again on their trademark resilience. Jalen Hurts absorbed hits, stayed calm in the two-minute drill and leaned on his chemistry with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Philly’s offense still lived in the red zone thanks to clock-chewing drives and their nearly unstoppable short-yardage sneak. It felt like a playoff atmosphere, with every third down inside field goal range getting treated like a season-defining snap.
The 49ers, meanwhile, looked like a complete machine when they hit their stride. Christian McCaffrey punished light boxes, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk stretched the field horizontally and vertically, and Kyle Shanahan dialed up motion-heavy looks that kept linebackers guessing. That balance allowed their pass rush to pin its ears back once they built a lead, collapsing the pocket and forcing hurried throws and one brutal pick-six that swung momentum for good.
There were upsets too. A presumed favorite in the AFC took a gut punch on the road, unable to protect its quarterback and stalling repeatedly in the red zone. A late missed field goal in the final seconds turned what should have been a gritty comeback into a locker-room heartbreaker. Players talked afterward about self-inflicted wounds, penalties in key situations and blown assignments on third-and-long that flipped field position.
How the NFL standings and playoff picture are shifting
With the latest results in the books, the NFL standings tightened across both conferences. The top seeds still hold, but the gap between division leaders and the wild card crowd is razor-thin. One loss, especially in a head-to-head tiebreaker, can swing a team from a home playoff game to a brutal Wild Card road trip.
In the AFC, the Ravens and Chiefs remain at the center of the race for the No. 1 seed. Baltimore’s balance on both sides of the ball, combined with Jackson’s MVP-level play, makes them a nightmare matchup. Kansas City’s experience and late-season surge, led by Mahomes, keeps them firmly in the mix. Behind them, teams like the Dolphins and Jaguars sit in that dangerous zone of being clear playoff teams but still chasing a higher seed to avoid a brutal opening-round matchup.
The NFC playoff picture is just as tense. The Eagles and 49ers continue to headline the conference as the primary Super Bowl contenders, while the Cowboys and Lions lurk with explosive offenses but questions about consistency in crunch time. One slip from any of the conference’s top-tier teams could flip home-field advantage and re-route the entire postseason path.
To make sense of where things stand, here is a compact look at key division leaders and wild card contenders based on the latest NFL standings and playoff picture:
| Conference | Seed | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 1 | Ravens | Division leader, in hunt for No. 1 seed |
| AFC | 2 | Chiefs | Division leader, Super Bowl contender |
| AFC | 3 | Dolphins | Division leader, explosive offense |
| AFC | 4 | Jaguars | Division leader, fighting for seeding |
| AFC | 5 | Top Wild Card | Road threat, on pace for postseason |
| AFC | 6 | Wild Card | On the bubble, tiebreakers crucial |
| AFC | 7 | Wild Card | Clinging to final spot |
| NFC | 1 | Eagles | Conference leader, chasing bye |
| NFC | 2 | 49ers | Division leader, dominant roster |
| NFC | 3 | Lions | Division leader, high-scoring offense |
| NFC | 4 | Cowboys | Division or Wild Card, depending on race |
| NFC | 5 | Top Wild Card | Legit threat, strong point differential |
| NFC | 6 | Wild Card | In mix, schedule tightening |
| NFC | 7 | Wild Card | On the bubble, margin for error gone |
Every team in the 5-to-9 range in both conferences is living week to week. One big win over a direct rival and they are suddenly in the driver’s seat. One flat performance and they tumble into the "needs help" column. Coaches are now openly talking about tiebreakers, conference records and the value of sweeping divisional games.
MVP race: Mahomes, Lamar and the stars in the spotlight
The MVP race feels as crowded as the playoff picture. Mahomes reinserted himself into the conversation with a sharp, turnover-free performance, shredding blitzes and showing that trademark off-script magic when the pocket collapsed. You could feel the energy shift with each scoring drive, the stadium erupting as he kept attacking downfield rather than settling for checkdowns.
Lamar Jackson, though, might have the strongest narrative right now. The Ravens continue to beat good teams, and Jackson is doing it with a more complete profile than in past years: efficient passing, wise decisions in the red zone and fewer risky throws into double coverage. Add his rushing threat – especially in the two-minute warning and on key third-and-short calls – and you get a player who tilts the entire field.
Jalen Hurts remains in the mix as well, especially with the Eagles perched at or near the top of the NFC standings. His red zone decision-making, his toughness on designed runs and his leadership in late-game drives make him the heartbeat of a true Super Bowl contender. When he stands tall in the pocket and delivers a strike on a deep dig or back-shoulder fade, it feels almost inevitable.
On the defensive side, a handful of edge rushers and shutdown corners are forcing their way into the conversation for individual hardware. Multiple players delivered multi-sack games this week, wrecking game plans and forcing quarterbacks off their spot before routes could fully develop. A timely strip-sack inside field goal range in one late-afternoon window was effectively the dagger in a tight contest.
Injury report and hot-seat tension
The injury report is beginning to loom as large as the box scores. Several contenders watched key starters limp off – including offensive linemen, which could quietly reshape entire game plans. Losing a blindside tackle or center in late November is often the difference between a clean pocket and a quarterback who is constantly on the move.
A couple of high-profile skill players are now week-to-week with lower-body injuries, their status for next Sunday and the coming Thursday night slot in doubt. Coaches are already fielding questions about whether they will preserve stars for the stretch run or push them back onto the field in a tight Wild Card race. One AFC coach admitted postgame that "we have to be smart about the long-term picture," even as his team sits just outside the final playoff seed.
Coaching hot-seat rumors are getting louder too. A team that began the year with playoff expectations now finds itself sliding down the NFL standings after another turnover-filled loss. Penalties, blown coverages and missed tackles fueled questions in the local market about preparation and accountability. The front office has been publicly patient, but an embarrassing prime-time performance could change the conversation quickly.
Looking ahead: Must-watch games and Super Bowl contender outlook
The next week on the schedule might be the most important stretch of the season so far. Several games feature direct clashes between playoff hopefuls, essentially serving as tiebreaker showdowns in real time. A heavyweight NFC battle featuring the Eagles, plus potential shootouts involving the 49ers, Cowboys, Dolphins and Chiefs, will go a long way toward clarifying which teams are real Super Bowl contenders and which are just hanging around the Wild Card race.
Fans should be locked in for Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football, where at least one matchup each week now has the feel of a postseason elimination game. Quarterbacks under pressure to justify massive contracts, defenses trying to prove they can travel in January weather, and coaching staffs emptying the playbook in the red zone – all of it feeds back into the evolving NFL standings story.
From a big-picture perspective, the Ravens, Chiefs, 49ers and Eagles feel like the clearest Super Bowl favorites right now, but there is enough volatility that one cold December night could flip the entire narrative. A surprise performance from an under-the-radar quarterback or a breakout game from a young pass rusher in a hostile road environment can shift momentum for an entire franchise.
However it plays out, the message is simple: every snap now matters. If you care about where your team sits in the NFL standings, you cannot afford to miss a drive, let alone a full game. Keep one eye on the scoreboard, another on the injury report and both ears open for late-breaking roster moves. The stretch run is officially here.
