Are 3 NFL Quarterbacks Really Better Than Patrick Mahomes?

Peyton Manning finally dethroned Tom Brady in 2006. Steve Young finally dethroned Troy Aikman in 1994. And Phil Simms finally dethroned Joe Montana in 1986. Will this be the year Josh Allen finally overtakes Patrick Mahomes to reach his first Super Bowl?

Simms’ son, Chris, believes it could. After ranking Mahomes No. 1 on his annual list of quarterback rankings in four of the last five seasons, the younger Simms said Tuesday the three-time Super Bowl MVP is now No. 4 behind Lamar Jackson (No. 1), Josh Allen (No. 2) and Joe Burrow (No. 3).

“The man, the myth, the legend,” Chris Simms said Tuesday on the Unbuttoned podcast. “One of the greatest I've ever seen and maybe the clutchest quarterback in football. The quarterback play week-in, week-out -- and I don't think he would disagree with me here -- has not been as high-level the past two seasons as Joe Burrow, Lamar or Josh Allen.”

Mahomes would not disagree that those quarterbacks produced better statistics last year, when the Chiefs' superstar finished with career lows in both passing yards (3,928) and touchdown passes (26).

Simms would not disagree that he’s not afraid to ruffle feathers with predictions – many of which have proved spot-on – and listing Mahomes anywhere below the NFL’s best quarterback certainly qualifies as a feather-ruffling statement.

Count Chase Daniel among those who won’t believe it until they see it – at least see Mahomes fail to make the AFC Championship Game for the first time in his career as an NFL starter (2018-24).

“Forget about the stats,” said Daniel, also a former NFL quarterback, on Thursday’s edition of The Facility. “Who cares? The way that Mahomes and Andy Reid have been able to evolve offensively since he took over as starter, has been what we need to talk about.

“Because back in the day, when they had Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce in his prime, they were an explosive team.”

That explosiveness is best measured in the quarterback’s average yards per attempt. For Mahomes, those numbers were 8.8 in 2018, 8.3 in 2019, 8.1 in 2020, 7.4 in 2021 and 8.1 in 2022. However, Mahomes dropped dramatically in that category in 2023 (7.0) and 2024 (6.8).

Yet, the fact that Mahomes managed to still go 31-8 combined over those two years is an important gauge in his evolution.

“He has not had the firepower to throw the ball down the field,” Daniel added. “So, what does he have to do? He's had to get better at the line of scrimmage. He's had to get better at audibling. He's had to get better at checking the ball down. He's been efficient, he's been effective.

“It's just so hard to be on that mountaintop when everyone around you is trying to knock you off, including Josh Allen, who won his first MVP. … Yeah, so, don't talk to me about somebody being better than Patrick Mahomes until someone is able to knock him off the mountain, which I don't see happening.”

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