Almost ever since he entered the NFL back in 2018, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been living in the shadow of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Allen has dominated the rivalry in the regular season, posting a 5-1 record against his AFC rival. But he’s been bested by the three-time Super Bowl champion at every turn in the postseason, going winless in four games against Mahomes.
But heading into the 2026 season, Allen can finally say he’s got the best of Mahomes in something as he dethroned the two-time MVP atop Abert Breer’s annual quarterback rankings.
Josh Allen Unseats Patrick Mahomes in QB Rankings
Last year, Allen came in at No. 2 in Breer’s rankings behind Mahomes, who took the top spot each of the last six seasons.
Allen finished with 427 points and 49 first-place votes. He had 71 more points and 16 more first-place votes than the No. 2-ranked QB, Matthew Stafford. The rankings were compiled of 104 total ballots made up of feedback from all 32 teams, including 20 head coaches and 21 general managers.
“Allen’s the most feared player in football because he’s grown into a quarterback who affects the defense on every single level — and this is one of those where NFL coaches and evaluators had little doubt about what he was becoming even when the general public had questions,” Breer wrote. “So it makes sense that now, with more questions arising, there are plenty of NFL folks anticipating he’ll hit another level in Buffalo’s new setup.”
One VP of player personnel added: “He’s still the most dangerous all around and the offense may be less conservative this year.”
As for Mahomes, he fell all the way down to No. 4.
“I figured he’d fall a little bit, but I didn’t anticipate that he’d be left off 18 ballots,” Breer continued. “But Allen was already gaining on him after Mahomes won over 90% of the first-place votes in 2020, ’22, ’23 and ’24. Those who’ve stuck to their guns on him this year point to the expected improvement of the run game, with Kenneth Walker III aboard (Josh Simmons’s health will be important in that regard).”
Josh Allen Opens Year as NFL MVP Favorite
The good news kept on coming for Allen this week, as he opened as the betting favorite to win NFL MVP, according to both FanDuel (+550) and DraftKings (+600).
This year’s race for MVP is expected to be a close one.
Allen’s top competition is Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, who is second behind Allen on DraftKings (+800) and third behind him and Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow on FanDuel (+1100).
Rounding out the field are Mahomes (+1000 on FanDuel, +1700 on DraftKings), Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (+1200 on DraftKings, +1400 on FanDuel), and Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams (+1200 on DraftKings, +1700 on FanDuel).
NFL Execs: Bills’ Josh Allen Has Finally Dethroned Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes