Bill Simmons says Patrick Mahomes may have peaked, rival is a better QB in 2025

Bill Simmons thinks Mahomes has peaked, chooses playoff rival as a better QB

Speaking on his podcast, Bill Simmons spoke out about Patrick Mahomes, feeling he peaked in the Chiefs’ all-world runs a few years ago, citing his drop in stats amid a disappointing 2024 season

“In 2022, he threw for 5250 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, 12 interceptions. That dropped 1300 yards last year, 26 TDs, all his stats are down, all his rushing stats are down. Is it possible he peaked then, like Apex Mahomes? I look at last season, they were 11-1 in one score games, and some of those wins were ridiculous. I just don’t think he moved the same way…I know his offensive line wasn’t good, but he couldn’t compensate in the same way, and the Eagles killed him!’ Simmons said.

Simmons doubled down earlier in the podcast by taking a Mahomes rival as his best quarterback in the NFL, choosing the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen.

“When it came right down to it, I just think Josh Allen is the best quarterback in the league. Game-by-game, regular season, durability, you basically can’t sack him or he runs away, he makes chicken salad out of chicken-s—, and he’s not the reason the team loses important games,” Simmons said, citing the ’13 seconds game as an example.

“He’s the best guy in the league. Now maybe in four months, Mahomes grabs it back, but with what we saw from Mahomes last year, I just don’t think it’s fair to put him over Allen,” he continued.

We’ve heard all this before, and it ignores an obvious reality

Statistically, Simmons is correct, barely. Allen was astonishingly good last year, taking the MVP crown and only throwing six interceptions. He had a better regular season than Mahomes overall, and there’s a good argument that, if you’re taking actual success out of the equation, then yes, Allen is better than Mahomes.

But to ignore Allen’s 0-4 record against Mahomes is somewhat churlish. No, Mahomes doesn’t win games on his own, nor does Allen lose them by himself, but the fact is, whenever there’s a duel between the two, Mahomes is the winner, and often with inferior talent on the outside. A 34-year-old Travis Kelce, a broken-down DeAndre Hopkins and a couple of developing youngsters does not make a super team.

True, Allen has similarly mid-level talent, but he can’t elevate them come playoff time. Mahomes can. The idea that Mahomes’ numbers dropping shows a decline is also an odd statement, given it was Mahomes’ very success in 2022 and other years that changed the face of NFL defense, with far more focus on two-deep-zone and taking away big plays (such as his moon-balls to former team mate Tyreek Hill), than ever before.

Plus, the statistical gap isn’t even that big. The fact Simmons is complaining about Mahomes ‘dropping his numbers’ to 26 touchdowns when Allen himself only threw 28 (albeit running for 12 more, a dimension to his game he uses more than Mahomes) and threw for fewer yards, makes the statement seem laughable.

Mahomes may have dropped from his video-game record-setting level of his earlier years, but changes in defensive schemes and attempts to limit him and solely him — something the Bills have invested money in themselves — have been largely responsible for that. In any case, he’s found a way to make it to January more often than not, and already has three Super Bowl rings to his name.

This feels like another stale overreaction to a bad performance all-around against the Eagles in February, and since we do this every year when the Chiefs stutter out of the gate, we’ll probably be saying the same again around Week 8.

Then the Chiefs will make the playoffs. Again.