Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Analyst's controversial Josh Allen-Patrick Mahomes take sure to upset Chiefs' fans

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Mike Moraitis | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 12:48 PM ET

Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been widely considered the best quarterback in the NFL for years now, but one analyst thinks Buffalo Bills' signal-caller Josh Allen has now surpassed him for that title.

The analyst is Bill Simmons, who said that Allen is at the top of the quarterback pyramid, not Mahomes.

Here's why he believes that.

"I did not have Patrick Mahomes at the top of the pyramid," Simmons said. "When it came right down to it, I just think Josh Allen's the best quarterback in the league. Game by game, regular season, durability. He can make chicken salad out of chicken [expletive]."

"From what we saw from Mahomes last year, which I want to go into in a second, I just don't think it's fair to put him over Josh Allen, especially because Mahomes didn't win the Super Bowl last year," Simmons concluded.

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Some people will immediately point to Simmons being a New England Patriots fan as a reason for his bias against Mahomes, who is easily the biggest threat there is to Tom Brady's "GOAT" status, so take that for what it's worth.

Listen, there is no question that Allen is in conversation for the best quarterback in the NFL, and he has been for years.

His MVP award following a 2024 season in which he didn't have much help at wide receiver further cemented that, and Allen was no doubt better than Mahomes during the regular season, also, which is all fair for Simmons to point out.

But Simmons neglects the fact that Mahomes didn't have a great supporting cast, either. Travis Kelce looks like he's declining, and Mahomes did not have Rashee Rice and Marquis Brown for most of the season.

All that said, the biggest reason it's difficult to put Allen at No. 1 is because of the lack of a Super Bowl. Allen has never even been to one and Mahomes has been to five and won three.

Is Buffalo's struggles to get to the Big Game all on Allen? Definitely not, but it remains a stark contrast between his and Mahomes' respective careers that can't be overlooked.

Furthermore, Mahomes and the Chiefs have been the bane of Allen and the Bills' existence in the playoffs, which is another huge factor. Kansas City has been responsible for the Bills' postseason demise four times since 2020, while Allen and Co. haven't beat the Mahomes-led Chiefs AFC champs once in the playoffs.

The Super Bowls alone are always going to be the sticking point for most people when it comes to putting Allen over Mahomes, and the same can be said for guys like Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.

If Allen and the Bills can finally get over the hump, we would be able to comfortably place him at the top of the list. But until that happens, justifying Allen over Mahomes will be extremely difficult.