NFL Standings shake-up: Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and the Chiefs, Ravens reshape playoff race

The latest NFL Standings got a major jolt as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, plus Lamar Jackson’s Ravens, reshaped the playoff picture. Where do top Super Bowl contenders stand now?

The NFL standings just flipped the script again, and the Super Bowl contender list looks a little different this morning. With Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs grinding out another statement win and Lamar Jackson keeping the Ravens in the thick of the AFC race, the playoff picture tightened across both conferences. From heartbreaker field goals to prime-time thrillers, this week felt like a sneak preview of January football.

Every new slate of games rewrites how we talk about the NFL standings, and this week was no different. Top seeds were pushed to the brink, Wild Card hopefuls clawed back into relevance, and a couple of preseason darlings suddenly look like long shots instead of Super Bowl contenders. Stadiums erupted, coaches burned timeouts like lottery tickets, and more than one quarterback found out what real pass rush pressure feels like late in the fourth quarter.

Mahomes, Chiefs deliver another late-game gut punch

The Chiefs once again reminded the league why they are permanently lodged in any Super Bowl contender conversation. Patrick Mahomes did not post cartoon numbers, but his pocket presence in the two-minute drill was the difference. Down the stretch, he slid away from edge pressure, bought time outside the pocket, and turned broken plays into chain-movers.

Defenses keep trying to take away the deep shot, but Mahomes killed clock and kept drives alive with precise intermediate throws on third-and-medium. His late scoring drive felt inevitable the moment he touched the ball with the game on the line. On the sideline, you could see defenders on the opposing team shaking their heads. One defensive back admitted afterward, in so many words, that against Mahomes "you feel like you need 17 points of cushion just to breathe."

And yet, this was not a one-man show. The Chiefs defense stiffened repeatedly in the Red Zone, forcing field goals instead of giving up back-breaking touchdowns. That bend-but-don't-break sequence is exactly why their position in the NFL standings still screams top seed material rather than vulnerable giant.

Lamar Jackson keeps the Ravens in the hunt

On the other side of the AFC, Lamar Jackson once again looked like the ultimate dual-threat nightmare. He extended plays with his legs, but what really stood out this week was his patience from the pocket. Rather than bailing at the first hint of pressure, Jackson slid up behind his guards, kept his eyes downfield, and ripped strikes into tight windows.

Multiple drives showcased why he sits squarely in the MVP race. Jackson stacked efficient completions, mixed in designed QB runs in short-yardage situations, and finished a crucial drive with a dart into the back of the end zone between two defenders. The throw was all arm talent; the moment was pure MVP composure.

Teammates raved about his leadership afterward. One Ravens veteran described the sideline as "playoff atmosphere from kickoff," and it felt that way in the stadium. With every conversion on third-and-long, you could sense the crowd realizing that the path to the AFC Championship might run straight through Baltimore if the NFL standings keep trending this way.

Game highlights: Upsets, heartbreakers and clutch kicks

Elsewhere across the league, the margin between joy and devastation came down to inches and seconds. Several games came down to the final possession, and more than one fan base is waking up asking how their team let it slip away.

In one of the weekend's biggest upsets, a heavily favored playoff hopeful got punched in the mouth early by an overlooked underdog. A tipped-pass interception turned into a pick-six, flipping momentum before the favorite had even found its rhythm. Suddenly, what looked like a routine win on paper was a four-quarter dogfight.

The underdog's pass rush absolutely teed off, racking up multiple sacks and collapsing the pocket on almost every obvious passing down. Their defensive coordinator dialed up blitzes that forced hurried throws, and a late strip-sack in field goal range sealed a season-defining win. That single game might swing a Wild Card race once the final tiebreakers are sorted.

Another highlight came from a classic field-position chess match that turned into a special teams clinic. A clutch 50+ yard field goal at the two-minute warning had the home crowd holding its breath. The kick barely snuck inside the upright, grazing the wind as it sailed through. Those three points pushed a borderline playoff team back into the conversation and tightened a divisional race that already felt like a weekly coin flip.

Current playoff picture: AFC and NFC tightening

With the latest results in the books, the playoff picture is starting to harden at the top, even as the middle remains total chaos. Division leaders in both conferences created a bit of breathing room, but the Wild Card race looks like a traffic jam of flawed, dangerous teams that no one wants to see on Wild Card Weekend.

Here's a compact look at how the top of the NFL standings shapes up right now among key division leaders and primary Wild Card contenders:

Conference	Team	Status	Record
AFC	Chiefs	Division Leader / No. 1 Seed mix	Top-tier winning record
AFC	Ravens	Division Leader / Super Bowl contender	Top-tier winning record
AFC	Key Wild Card teams	In the hunt	Clumped around .500+
NFC	Top NFC favorite	Likely No. 1 Seed	Elite record
NFC	Another NFC power	Division Leader	Strong winning record
NFC	NFC Wild Card bubble	On the bubble	Just above or below .500

In the AFC, the Chiefs and Ravens feel like the safest bets to host playoff games, but the battle for byes and home-field advantage remains razor-thin. One bad Sunday, one tipped pass, or one missed field goal could swing the No. 1 seed and completely redraw the postseason bracket.

The NFC picture is similar: a clear top tier has separated, yet even those teams have shown cracks. A shaky defensive performance here, a stalled run game there, and suddenly that dominant September favorite looks merely mortal. Underneath them, a cluster of Wild Card hopefuls is winning just enough to stay relevant but not enough to feel secure. Every divisional matchup from here out has tiebreaker implications.

Injury reports that could reshape the Super Bowl race

The injury report this week reads like a list of players no coach wants to see in doubt. Several key starters sat out stretches of action, and a couple of big-name skill players left games and did not return. Even when updates were cautiously optimistic, the impact on game plans was obvious.

One contender lost its top wide receiver to a lower-body issue midway through the second quarter. The offense immediately felt less explosive, leaning heavily on short passes and checkdowns rather than taking shots outside the numbers. Defenses squeezed the field, living closer to the line of scrimmage and daring backup receivers to win one-on-one.

Another team watched its star pass rusher limp to the sideline, which completely changed the pass rush equation. Without that edge presence, opposing quarterbacks had more time in the pocket, and drives that had been stalling at midfield suddenly turned into Red Zone trips. Any extended absence here would be a massive blow to that team's Super Bowl chances.

Coaches tried to downplay the long-term concern after the games, but you could hear the subtext. This late in the season, no one is fully healthy, and the thin line between contender and pretender often comes down to which roster stays intact enough to keep its identity.

MVP race: Mahomes, Lamar and a crowded field

The MVP race feels like a weekly referendum at this point. Patrick Mahomes remains the standard; even when his box score is not explosive, the situational excellence jumps off the tape. Think key third-down conversions, clutch throws against the blitz, and that sense that every defense is one mistake away from giving up a game-breaking play.

Lamar Jackson sits right beside him in the discussion. His dual-threat impact is still unmatched, and this week again he delivered the kind of balanced performance that voters remember: strong passing efficiency combined with timely scrambles that turned broken plays into chunk gains. He did not need 400 yards and 4 TDs to control the game; the way he dictated coverage and forced linebackers to hesitate was just as valuable.

Behind them is a pack of quarterbacks and a couple of standout defensive stars who keep stacking resume games. A pass rusher with double-digit sacks continues to wreck game plans, living in the backfield and forcing offenses to chip and slide protection every snap. A shutdown corner has quarterbacks looking away from half the field, effectively erasing WR1s from box scores. If either keeps this pace and the team surges in the NFL standings, we could hear serious Defensive Player of the Year and even outside MVP chatter.

Quarterbacks under pressure and coaches on the hot seat

Not everyone is riding high. Several quarterbacks are squarely under the microscope after another inconsistent week. Overthrows in the flat, missed reads in the middle of the field, and ugly interceptions in field goal range are piling up. One starter in particular heard boos rain down after a brutal pick in the Red Zone wiped out a chance to tie the game late.

Those mistakes do more than crush a single drive; they erode locker-room confidence and put coaches on the hot seat. When a team keeps losing one-score games, the conversation shifts from bad luck to bad situational football. Time management errors, conservative play-calling on fourth-and-short, and questionable decisions in the two-minute drill all came under fire this weekend.

Front office rumors are heating up too. With the trade deadline in the rearview and the playoff picture tightening, struggling teams are already thinking about the next step. That could mean a coaching change, a scheme overhaul, or a full reset at quarterback after the season.

Looking ahead: Next week’s must-watch games

As we pivot from this wild slate to next week, several matchups jump off the schedule. A showdown between two top AFC contenders could swing the race for the No. 1 seed, while a prime-time NFC clash might be a preview of a Divisional Round rematch. Expect playoff-level intensity, even if the calendar still says regular season.

Circle the heavyweight bout that features Mahomes in another national spotlight game and Lamar Jackson facing a defense built to contain mobile quarterbacks. If either star puts together a statement performance, the MVP race narrative will shift again and the NFL standings at the top of the conference could tilt in their favor.

Down the card, several "loser leaves town" games loom for teams hovering around .500. A loss might not mathematically eliminate them, but emotionally it could be the breaking point. Watch for aggressive fourth-down calls, surprise onside kicks, and offensive coordinators emptying the playbook with trick plays and shot plays off misdirection.

The bottom line: every snap from here on out feels heavier. Every injury report update, every missed extra point, every coaching decision at the two-minute warning has ripple effects across the entire playoff picture.

Fans tracking the NFL standings now are not just watching for wins and losses; they are scanning for tiebreakers, conference records, and head-to-head matchups that will decide who plays in January and who starts thinking about the draft. If this week is any indication, the run-in to the postseason is going to be a full-on sprint.