Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15). Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Fan question poses intriguing fantasy scenario with Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI | By Khari Demos | Last updated May 11, 2025 1:10 PM ET

Almost universally regarded as the two best quarterbacks in the game, any time Buffalo Bills' field general Josh Allen and Kansas City Chiefs' QB1 Patrick Mahomes are discussed, it can lead to an intriguing conversation, and one recent fan question on the "Simms Unbuttoned" podcast did just that.

Chris Simms and his NBC Sports counterpart, Ahmed Fareed, were presented with an X post that asked what NFL teams, with their existing rosters, could add Allen and Mahomes, and those squads did not qualify for the playoffs. Simms tweaked it a bit to go with the teams' 2024 rosters for the sake of the exercise.

While typically with a hypothetical scenario like this, it leans more on the positive end, this take on the MVP quarterbacks was one that had the two hosts conflicted.

"That's a more fair question. Because as we talked about earlier too, this isn't basketball," Simms said. "'Well, we signed Michael Jordan and LeBron James, we're in the window to win the [NBA] Finals now.' It's not that."

This conversation led Simms to pointing out how Saquon Barkley had a tumultous tenure with the Giants, just to turn around and lead the NFL in rushing and win his first Super Bowl title with the right supporting cast in Philadelphia.

As for Allen and Mahomes, the teams they said may not have made the playoffs with them in 2024 include the Patriots, Raiders, Titans, Jaguars, Panthers, Giants, and Saints.

Of those squads, the one that is a bit intriguing is Carolina. The team finished 5-12 last year and were third place in the NFC South. The thing is, though, they vastly improved once QB Bryce Young began to pick up his play down the stretch, earning four of its five wins from Week 9 on. The Panthers also lost three games by one possession over that final stretch, including to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Eagles in Week 14.

Like Simms said, this is a fair question to be asking. But it is also astounding to think these two future Hall of Fame field generals are talented enough to make Simms believe they could have gotten teams like the Jets and Browns to the 2024 playoffs despite their various flaws.