The Buffalo Bills and their fans didn’t need ESPN to confirm what they’ve known for years now — Josh Allen is the NFL’s best quarterback.
Despite what they may have seen in the playoffs last season.
Allen finally took the No. 1 spot from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on ESPN’s annual position rankings as voted on by league executives, coaches, and scouts.
“Allen has long pushed to supplant Mahomes, but he had to fight for every vote to finally make that happen,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on July 13. ” … Once among the game’s most generous at gift-wrapping footballs for defenders, Allen has assuaged the turnover problem, averaging eight interceptions per season since 2024 (down from an average of 15.7 from 2021-23). He fumbled 12 times over the last two years, an improvement from his 20 from the previous two seasons — and a small consideration against the backdrop of 41 rushing touchdowns since 2023.”
One remarkable stat about Allen speaks to how consistently productive he’s been.
He’s the only quarterback with at least 25 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns in 3 consecutive seasons in NFL history — which he’s done over the past 3 seasons.
Playoff Meltdown Didn’t Help Allen’s Legacy
It’s hard to think of Allen, the 2024 NFL Most Valuable Player, and not think about his epic playoff failings.
While Allen spent the better part of the last 2 years shaking off his reputation as 1 of the NFL’s worst at turning the ball over, he brought all those old feelings back to the surface in a 33-30 overtime road loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round.
Against the Broncos, Allen turned the ball over 4 times, with 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles.
Bills Tried to Revamp Offense for Josh Allen
The Bills have tried to revamp the offense and the entire franchise for Allen this offseason, which included firing longtime head coach Sean McDermott and replacing him with offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
They also made a sketchy trade for Chicago Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore in the hopes he can give Allen the legit, WR1 target he’s been missing since Stefon Diggs left 2 years ago.
The Bills, who haven’t had a receiver with more than 821 yards since 2023, gave up a 2nd-round pick for Moore.
Moore signed a 4-year, $110 million contract extension with the Bears before the 2024 season. That followed career highs of 96 receptions, 1,364 yards and 9 total touchdowns in 2023. He followed that with 966 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2024, then a dismal 682 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2025 as the Bears won the NFC North Division.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton gave the Bills 1 of his lowest grades — a “C” — for the trade in his postmortem for NFL offseason moves.
“The Bills needed to bolster their wide receiver group, but they did so at a costly price for a player who hasn’t eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards since 2023,” Moton wrote on July 7. “That said, Moore could be Buffalo’s lead pass-catcher and brings much-needed speed to the team’s aerial attack. Yet his receiving yard totals have been on the decline over the last two years. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that Moore played with Caleb Williams, who has struggled with accuracy in his first two seasons, completing just 60.3 percent of his passes. Also, the 29-year-old wideout ceded targets to younger pass-catchers, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland last season. Perhaps Moore plays a bigger role in the Bills’ offense, though it’s not a guarantee with wide receivers Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer vying for targets. Buffalo is looking for an offensive spark, and Chicago traded a player who had faded in its offense for premium draft capital.”
Bills QB Josh Allen Edges Patrick Mahomes in NFL Rankings